Tying Together :
... a globalized network of academics, professionals, community, and NATURE
- The smallest and southermost province of chiana, consisting of various island in the South China sea.
TA BL E O F
CONTENTS
5 7 9 10 12 15
Excutive Sumary Proj Introduction Reginal Analysis Large Site Context Analysis
Overall Site Conditon
Five Top Tier University
18 20
22 24
Tying Together | Concept 1: “ Tying Together ” X : “ ... with Nature ” Master Plan Planing Zoning Circulation
Tying the System Design Strategy Blue Strip of Living water Intergrating | Blue Strip Features + Functionalities Water | A part of the Local Culture Shaping | Natural Swale
34 42 46 49
Linnking Agriculture Ecology Green Strip of Agrriculture Interconnecting GreenLife Water + Agriculture + Architecture =Living Classroom
Conclusion
References
“Linkage ...”
4
Summary E x cut iv e
The traditional Chinese knot consists of two ropes tied together and interwoven, as water melds with agriculture and agriculture with water. Our main themes, or our “1” in our “1+X”, are just this, water and agriculture. The concept of tying this knot is how we have carried this concept forward and created symbolism from. The unifying entity in which our “1” so elegantly sits, this unspoken hero, is our “X”, our core theme, that beautifully underlies every design element on campus we have envisaged. It is, “Working with nature.” Altogether, our “1+X” is, “Tying together, with nature” and embodies our core aspirations for this visionary master plan. The campus framework consists of a range of landscape typologies,
filtration and restoration zones that are made up of artificial dunes which act as physical barriers to protect the campus against rising sea levels and create room for recreation and ecology. Our floating farm and market will showcase technical developments and are highlights for future tourists and inhabitants, while creating work possibilities for local people. Our academic research plots and strips for agriculture link individual ecosystems across together and blend seamlessly within campus life, to our combination of mangrove and fishponds along the waterways. Bordered by the coast and the river, a common forum will arise in a partly underground building, to the dormitories whose landscapes are intended to be open and flexible for recreation
and personal use for the residents and visitors to the campus. We are creating linkages within, or tying together, these components of the campus with this framework. All across campus will be places for future scientists, students and citizens to meet and develop solutions for the pressing issues of today and tomorrow. Together, these themes form our development initiatives and we use the idea of the “living classroom” as a mode for experiential and knowledge exchange to build bridges between agriculture and water, knowledge and the community. With this, we also hope to show that working nature into our world can be cheaper and more rewarding than traditional
methods of development. That is why we also want to promote a sustainable lifestyle and inclusivity by incorporating ideas of a shared economy and accessible landscape. We hope to impress upon you our University Park design concept that we envisage in Hainan as a catalyser of change for the world and hope that you, as a future visitor, student, researcher, or instructor will be inspired by this unique campus and will be able to help join with us in “tying together, with nature”, and create one of the most regionally and globally interlinked, sustainable, and resilient campuses in the world. 5
“ ... deeply interwoven”
6
Introduction Pro j
“The year 2030, Hainan is one of the leading intellectual centers of the world. Its state-of-the-art facilities and international attitude attract the brightest minds from all over the world to this tropical island. Life is good on this campus. Students and staff enjoy nature, bike trough the dunes that protect them and give them fresh water. Tourists from all over the world visit the exhibition centre, eat meals grown from campus gardens, and purchase local goods. Quality of life got a new definition after the design of this campus.”
This describes the campus we hope to achieve when we considering the campus of the future. A place where around 30.000 students will feel free, happy, and enlightened. This place must not only be for students, but open for a globalized network of academics, professionals, and community to grow
and evolve. This means we have not designed an American, Dutch, Brazilian or Chinese University, but a Global University. This report will first give a short analysis of the region and the site. Further on, our vision, will be described in detail. As a guiding principal, we used the symbol of a traditional Chinese knot. Throughout the campus, water and agriculture are tied together, just as the two ropes that are part of the knot. Knots are complex and so too is the relationship between the ropes. Our goal is to share the ideas and knowledge behind the chosen designs by transforming the campus into a living classroom. Additionally, an integrated and fundamental principal of our design choices is that we are “working with nature” on all possible fronts. We hope you will be inspired by our new definition of the campus of the future! 7
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Figure 2 Shenzhen, one of the special economic zones, which have undergone an enorm
mous transition (Masayuki Terazawa, 2019)
Reginal
Ana lysis
Location: Connected with China and the world Special economic zones have developed across China during the last few decades. Cities like Shantou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai play an important role on the world stage and are developed into metropolitan regions, which create benefits on local, regional and global scale. These cities play a key role in the current economic development of China. In response to this development, new special economic zones are planned in the region of Hainan as part of a University Campus that will lead the world with the leading marine research facility. Hainan is a major tourist destination for both local and international visitors with its unique tropical climate, culture and scenery. Not only will this transition need to be considered moving forward with the development of new cities. This project creates a place, which should be well suited for the academic culture of five of the best universities of China. Each university has its own history, specialisation and background. Our design takes this cultural difference into account, and thereby focuses on creating a place for every academic discipline across China.
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Lar g e
Site Context
At this point, it will be discussed major aspects about the large site, including the physical and environmental aspects of sun and wind direction, as well as the cultural aspects of agriculture, land use and historic buildings on site. The following images and description are demonstrated in Appendix A. This analysis was important to developing the masterplan to define our ‘X ‘, by linking cultural traditions to new agriculture approaches, preserving native crops and agriculture. 10
The solar direction provides the opportunity to design building roofs and windows to face that direction to integrate solar panels and maximize the sunlight into the building during day time. Considering wind direction, a major part will travel from the shoreline which allow us to create wind channel throughout the University planning to percolating easy breeze in and out of the site into grid form to also lower the damage during the typhoon. Hainan Island has a different climate compared to the northern area of China, and the specific plantation, foods are connected to this aspect, where fishing, sea food, and tropical fruits such as coconuts are typical for this area, and also very important to the local economy.
Yazhou Bay play a mojor role for the culture and the develpment of the local residents. Majority of the economy rely on the fishery and crops exportation.
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Current site condition and existing structures on site with solar pattern and wind circulation from the shoreline
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A large part of the land is currently used for agriculture. When we visited the site, there was a clear presence for new developments. In addition, the site is influenced by the river and the sea.
Climate change will cause a sea level rise around the globe. The effect in 40, 60- and 80-years’ time period.
O v erall S it e
Condition
Sanya is surrounded by mountains on three side which is providing great visual view and protection for the resident and vistors. However, this is making the site as the lowest elevation of the Yazhou Bay.
• Climate | Hainan’s climate is part tropical and part subtropical; the winter is not very cold –compared to the north or China, and the summer usually is rainy, and very warm. The daily mean temperature is 25,8°C, and the warmest month during the year is June. For the other side, the record low is 5,1°C, often in January. The dry season happens from December to march, when the average precipitation days does not reach more than four days per month. • Topography | Topography describes both the natural and man-made features of a place or region especially in a way to show their relative positions and elevations. Topography
is essential for landscape planners, and designers because it shows the natural and artificial positioning of the land. Hainan has a combination of savanna (28.7%), mountains (25.4%), hills (13.3%), and Mesa (32.6%). The island is also high in the middle, and lower on the borders, and has more than 1500 kilometers of beaches. • Agriculture and fishing | Hainan is rich in resources of species and vegetation, and is considered as a golden place for developing tropical agriculture with its own characteristics. In this area, tropical fruits are more common, as is the sea food a very important asset to the community economy, and local consumption. 13
Li
x2
Miao Zhuang Hui
• Demography | In 1957 only 2.91 million people lived on the island, which indicates that the population of Hainan has doubled in the last decades. In 2017 Hainan had a population of 9.26 million inhabitants of which a substantial part, 1.34 million, comprised of ethnic minorities (Gu & Wall, 2007). The livelihoods of the indigenous Li, Miao, Zhuang and Hui minorities, are mostly focused on agriculture. As observed during our field trip, the Li people live on boats and are mostly fishermen. • Economic Situation |
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Hainan is the biggest special economic zone in China. Since 1988, when the special economic zone was established, substantial flows of capital and labour have found their way to the island. While agriculture was the dominant industry on the island due to a lack of investment in the past, this isn’t the case anymore. Hainan is a major crops production and exporting to the rest of China. In addition, due to the beautiful scenery of tropical beaches, Tourism became a major source of income and increased more than 200 times in 15 years and the agricultural sector receives substantial investments nowadays.
Five Top Tier
University
The universities: An unprecedented collaboration
This wide variety of universities have goals to strengthen their academic institutions to achieve new scientific breakthroughs and research. In combination with the special economic zones, the campus will become the thriving brain of innovation for the region and will attract business and academia across the globe. • China Agricultural University (CAU)is a leading university in the field of agriculture and is situated in the city of Beijing. It has around 19.500 students and was established in 1905. • Ocean University of China is most famous for its marine science and fishery research. It is situated in the city of Qingdao, has approximately 27.300 students and has existed since 1924. • Shanghai Jiao Tong University is one of the most prestigious universities of the country and is part of the C9 League. Around 45.500 students study there and enjoy the old architecture as one of the oldest universities in China. Established in 1896 and based in Shanghai. • Wuhan University of Technology is a combination of three universities with a focus on Transportation, Technology and Automotive. The university is a large organization with around 85.500 students and is based in the city of Wuhan. • Zheijiang University is part of the C9 League and is established in 1879. The university is in the city of Hangzhou and has around 54.500 students Table 1 General statistics of the 5 core universities
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Tying
Together - All |
... a globalized network of academics, professionals, community, and NATURE 16
17
Tying Together - All
| Conceptual
Our 1 is ‘Tying Together’ and our X is ‘Working with Nature’. The ‘tie’ from our 1 it is a knot between two ropes, each of which represent agriculture and water. Furthermore, the idea of the living classroom is essential to the core principals of this overall campus plan. The concept of “Working with Nature” is the underlying principal of all the features on campus. 1: “Tying together…” Our vision for the campus is to create linkages within the campus framework, which are deeply interwoven. A traditional Chinese tie forms the idea behind this concept. This tie consists of two ropes: green and blue, which represents agriculture and water. Agriculture and water management are the focus areas of the universities and 18
closely related to the history of this land. Furthermore, the third component of this project is the idea of the living classroom. Visitors should be able to follow this tie and learn more from the environment while on campus.. Agriculture The island of Hainan is a special place in China due to its subtropical and tropical climates, making it a unique place for growing crops. Tropical regions around the world are rich in biodiversity from the thousands of years of weathering of soils, from soils once rich in nutrients to soils that are red and depleted, and in the process turning those nutrients from rocks into biological life. We hope to bring some of this biodiversity back and lock in the richness through creating a campus intertwined around its food and agriculture.
Water Water is crucial for life on earth and consequently plays a major role on the campus. The livelihoods of the local Li-people have sparked new ideas to work differently with water. Floating markets will arise along the river and fishery is possible in the mangroves. Furthermore, every tap on campus will provide fresh drinking water. Additionally, retention basins will hold water during large storm events and percolate back into the water table when not raining. Living Classroom We want visitors to be inspired and be able to fully understand the landscape and its performance as a living system. This is done for example by providing interactive games and Quick Response (QR) codes around the campus. These are barcodes that can be
scanned with a smart phone to access information. Thereby it is also important to realize that visitors shouldn’t only be enlightened by the structures on campus, but also by the way people live. That is why we want to promote a sustainable lifestyle and inclusiveness. + X: “…with nature” Nature plays a big role in our campus. We are inspired by nature and driven to implement techniques from nature into ordinary situations. Through areas such as food that is grown without major inputs by creating a self-sufficient ecosystem. These projects make use of concepts in nature and can prove that working with nature is more sustainable and rewarding than working with the artificial world. 19
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Tyi ng To g e ther
| Planning + Circulation + Zoing
Connecting Community and Nature: The campus will bridge the existing ecological conditions of the site with the local community and campus. Creating a symbiotic campus plan that integrates the ecological and social environments.
Agriculture as Campus Framework: Breaking the urban grid formation to integrate nature into the campus through agriculture strips that are incorporated into all aspects of the campus environment.
Campus Framwork and Systems: Organizing the campus plan through both an ecological and social framework drove the layout and development of the developed area. Striking balance between these systems and working with nature.
Campus Circulation: The campus is connected through a comprehensive transportation network through both public and private modes, as well as a strong focus on bicycle and pedestrian access across the campus.
Emergency Evacuation: Access out of the site with the consideration of heavy storm and fire.
Campus Zoning: Organizing the campus plan through both an ecological and social framework drove the layout and development of the developed area. Striking balance between these systems and working with nature. 21
Tyi n g
The System Campus and Nature:
Present
• Combanation of Historical + Urbanized Architechture • Coastline Lifestyle + Culture • Local Farming Heritage
Past
With various analysis level of different period of, University Park will be tying the new develpment, programing and system with nature that is contiuing changing over time.
• Tropical Weather • Local Crops + Large Trees • Acess to Ocean • Sourrounded by Mountains on 3 Sides
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Future
Nature +
• Advancement in Technology + Farming System • Expansion of Population + Density • Natural Disaster + Virus
+
+
D e si g n Strategy | Different deisgn strategies being implemeting throught the site in order to interlink the two veins of Hianan, water and aggriculture and deliver different living experience for the residents and vistor.
ng Wate Livi r
+ Connecting the water energy through the site and compliment the selected architecture and resotration zone.
gi
L
g Classroo n i m iv
es
Ag
ultural Ecol c i o r
+
Connecting outdoor and indoor by alternating spaces vertically while promoting the local farming strip horizontaly.
Sustainable designs are being implimented through the use of Different elevation accross the site to provide cohesive water system, vertical agriculture and vertical evacuation during emergency events.
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B lu e St rip of
Living Water
Water is crucial for life on earth and consequently plays a major role on the campus. The livelihoods of the local Li-people have sparked new ideas to work differently with water. Floating markets will arise along the river and fishery is possible in the mangroves. Furthermore, every tap on campus will provide fresh drinking water. Additionally, retention basins will hold water during large storm events and percolate back into the water table when not raining.
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I nte r gra t i ng | BLUE STRIP Is it Dunes ? Rising sea levels are putting pressure on every coastline on earth. The shoreline of our campus has been designed to mitigate these effects. A top priority is to keep the campus safe for rising sea levels and by doing so we want to bring the rich biodiversity of the Hainan coast to the University Park landscape. This is all possible when dunes are built along the coast. To use the space as efficiently as possible, homes will be embedded within the dune’s infrastructure. The cooling effect of the dunes keep the homes cool in the hot summer months.
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In the dune landscape, a large pond will be filled with water fresh water from the river and retention ponds. The dunes will filter the water in this pond and can provide the whole campus with fresh water after a small treatment with active charcoal. In this way the natural
filter function of the dunes can be used, which is in line with the “working with nature” concept. In addition, trails will be woven through this dune landscape and connected to the rest of the campus creating opportunity for recreational activities such as running and cycling. Visitors can enjoy the rich biodiversity of the surroundings and get some rest from the hectic life on campus in nature.
Schematic overview of the production process of fresh water from Ddunes ( Dunea, 2020)
Campus as Valley : Utilizing the natural topography of the site allows the campus to act as a natural filter to cleanse the water before flushing into the ocean.
Filtering Storm Water : The Campus landscape acts as a system, directing the flows of rainwater, river and ocean currents as one cohesive filter, supported by the landscape and integrated with the campus life.
Natural Edge : Ecological, the waterways suppot a series of habitats on the campus most importantly at the water edge. The natural landscape would support an aquaponic habitat for a mangrove and seafood, working with The Central Park waterbody.
Wetland Restoration
Paddy Field
Mangrove
Floating Farm
Wetland Restoration
Fish Farm
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Feat u res + Functionalities
WaterEdge Commercial Retention Zone
Man gro ve
Floating Farm+Market
Floating Market Along the river shops will arise in the form of a floating market. The market functions separately from the campus. Boat tours can be taken on the river and shops can be accessed from the water and the land. This will create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. There will be room for small food outlets and goods, which are made by the local Han, Li, Miao and Zhuang people. Li people, also known as Hlai, make up approximately 15.8% of the population in Hainan, migrated to Hainan predating the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.). and are thought to be the descendants of ancient tribes that settled long ago from the mainland. This people are welcomed to start business in this floating market in exchange for a very small rental fee. They are also invited to show their local techniques of preparing fish, as shown in figure 54. These practices can be redistributed along the coast. Water Retention Areas With climate change rainstorms will become more intense. To give room to the rainwater multipurpose areas will be incorporated in the area. Areas that are at a first glance ordinary basketball fields will turn in retention ponds that prevent flooding on campus by retaining the water until the system is ready for it.
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Mangrove Mangroves are thought to store as much as four times the amount of carbon previously thought and possibly four times as much as rainforests. In addition to their carbon sequestration potential, mangroves create a natural protection against flooding and create sustainable fishery possibilities for shrimp production. Mangrove systems will also be present along the coastline with their multipurpose use as flood barrier and fish production spots. In coastal regions like where University Park is situated, mangroves can offer a unique and impactful way of combining shrimp and fish farming with natural protection and combatting the climate crisis. Rainwater Harvesting for Supplemental Irrigation November through April is the dry season on the tropical and sub-tropical island of Hainan. Rainwater collection through collection ponds and tanks can help sustain agriculture through the dry months and reduce pressure on municipal water. Rainwater collection ponds next to houses will act as a buffer during the wet season, but it can also provide water for the toilets. Solar pumps will pump the water from the pond to the toilets. When the retention pond has not enough water for this system water from the showers can be diverted to a tank underneath the housing. The sewage of the houses will be brought to a helophyte filter, which is a sand filter that is generally planted with reeds. The actual treatment of the water is done by bacteria living in the roots. The reeds serve principally to aerate the roots and to capture nitrates and phosphorous.
Schematic overview of the grey water ponds and helophyte filter.
Helophyte filters spread the wastewater in a smooth layer several centimetres below the surface of the filter. The water is led into the filter below the surface to prevent unpleasant odours. The wastewater seeps through the layer of sand and the roots where it undergoes biological treatment. A drain is placed at the bottom of the sand filter to capture the treated wastewater. Iron or copper particles are generally added to the sand layer to bind phosphates. Films, layers of clay or concrete ensure that the helophyte filter is hydrologically completely sealed from the ground (GroenBlauw, 2020). This filtered water can be used as irrigation water or diverted to the sea. This complex cycle makes use of natural processes to eventually clean water, which is a good example of working with nature. 29
The Wei Yang He Riverwalk Channel is located in the center of the University Park campus. Our goal for the Riverwalk is to promote social interaction among all users and visitors especially with the local community. The design is emphasizing the importance of the existing community and their traditions and lifestyle along the water. In our riverwalk area, there are social gathering venues, vendor stalls for the local community to utilize as well as water filtration and ecological habitat in this channel. 30
Observational Railing + siting
Aquatic Vegation Curtain
Floating Garden
Neting Filtration Pole
Riverwalk Path
Wa te r | A Part of Culture
Restaurant Unknown: an innovative farm-to-table eatery at University Park Locally produced vegetables, fruits, and cereal grains are harvested directly from the University Park grounds, processed at the central Farm Hub, and brought to this campus farm-to-table restaurant.
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S h a p i n g | Natural Swale
Natural swale landform is creating a water system and experiences throught different landscape topography with native plants intergration to prevent pollution and promote habitat restoration on site.
Wei Yang He Riverwalk Channel
Elevated Boardwalk between paddy field and wetand
Surface Flow Zone 1: Natural Water Storage 32
Farmland + Wetland intergrated at the lowest elevation of the landscape to repurposing the runoff water and provide additional storage capacity during rainfall events.
Zone 2: Riparian Planting Buffering zone between natural farmland and main circulation.
Zone 3: Wei Yang He Riverwalk Offside Trail
Riverwalk Street
Riv S
verwalk Street
Flatroof of the floating architechture providing different viewing point of the farming system.
Platform intergrated as part of the landscape to retain the soil for agroforestry.
Upper boardwalk provides the experience through agroforestry and paddy field.
Surface Flow
Zone 4: Filter Strip Offside Trail
Zone 5 : Farmland + Agroforestry Intergration Upper farmland swale with the intergration of agroforesty on the elevated slope to filter the runoff from sourrond architecture and concrete path.
Zone 6: Upper Sesonal Farmland + Architecture Intergration Providing different and viewing experiences from the floating architecture. 33
The island of Hainan is a special place in China due to its subtropical and tropical climates, making it a unique place for growing crops. Tropical regions around the world are rich in biodiversity from the thousands of years of weathering of soils, from soils once rich in nutrients to soils that are red and depleted, and in the process turning those nutrients from rocks into biological life. We hope to bring some of this biodiversity back and lock in the richness through creating a campus intertwined around its food and agriculture.
34
Agricult
Li nkin g
tural Ecologies
35
Green St rip of
Agriculture
“The University Park, an integrative living farm experience,” linking food and agriculture to students and researchers on-site as well as to farmers from local communities via a variety of interlinked demonstration plots throughout the campus connected via a continuous flow of linking farm strips that run alongside pedestrian thoroughfares, roads and green spaces. Each farm area has a unique cropping concept, designs of which intends to include agroforestry with tropical crops and native Hainan species, integrating animals for manure, organic nutrient management systems, living shorelines of 36
wetlands and mangroves that integrate fish and shrimp farming with water purification and carbon sequestration, and technologies like mid-ocean fish farming pods with a shoreline dock. Agriculture on campus is uniquely designed as a living experience that we hope will touch upon all senses of University Park campus goers, from the visual, auditory, and olfactory. Educational farm walks to see and be guided with an app to scan a QR code and listen to recorded farm tours or attend weekly farm tours.
Agriculture Experimental Plots Square and rectangular plots for different agricultural research. Demonstration plots address: (1) The cutting edge of sustainable agriculture and agriculture technology, urban agriculture demonstrations with interactive modules Sustainable Agriculture Experiment Types: • Agroforestry experiments: - “Romantic agroforestry” / self-sustaining food forest - classical, ideal = fully self-sustaining - Agroforestry elements • Diversified farming experiments: - Intercropping experiments: 1. Intercropping with different crops 2. Intercropping with genetic diversity with one crop. Zhu et.al. (Nature, ) show that sweet rice grown with a standard oryza sativa rice cultivars, which is highly susceptible to rice blast, has significantly reduced disease and higher yield. 3. Crop rotations - each season, a different crop in a given row. Agroforestry Models
Intergrated in the perimeter of fields
Intercropping
At landscape level for seasonal rotation 37
GRAY WATER
Toolsheds pavilions: Tools can be found in toolshed pavilions around campus to make farming even more interactive.
CISTERN 38
IR
GATI RI
ON
Seasonal Swale Rotation: Street swales function as a wet garden along the street to provide drainage for agriculture from the higher tier.
Rain Water Harvesting: Capturing rainfall during wetseason from the surrounding building lower the deman of ground water usage for irrigation.
Garden Steps: This tiered approch mimics traditional agriculture practices in the campus setting. Each tier support a different crops and species. .
The agricultural strips connect the plots with the aesthetic landscape as one campus system. With the layout of strips alongside circulation network, they sweep between buildings to deliver the agricultural experience into the core of the University Park. This linking system of strips is not only to integrate the research system for the campus, but also designed to benefit the local economy of Hainan’s community through the implementation of different crops throughout the campus.
I nte rc on ne c t i n g
GreenLife Linking strips connect agricultural experimental plots and farming landscape into entirely interconnected agricultural lands. Linking strips can allow farm machinery to work uninterrupted from one farm plot to the next. These strips, that follow alongside roads and pathways and sweep between buildings, also they bring farming to the everyday life experience of campus inhabitants and passer byers. Creating a seamless flow between agriculture on campus with campus life at University Park, the cropping system are designed to link the strips integrating plants that to add beauty, smells and flowers. Attracting fauna and beneficial insects, tasting good, and have an inviting touch. An app used with QR codes will help give more explanation of the agricultural techniques employed throughout the interconnected farms. Incorporated with the campus circulation buffer strips of perennial grasses, shrubs that additionally can be used to attract pollinators and parasitoids and other beneficial insects. Then, a strip crop or two or three in an intercropped sequence. Followed on the other side by another buffer then another human pathway or other landscape element (building, etc.)
Maintain continuity of buffer strips for pollinators and insects to move around easily between different areas. The range of each insect is limited. Having large distances that split up their habitat disrupts their ability to fluidity move around and provide their ecosystem services. Buffer zones to separate food crops from pathways where buffer zones serve to filter out waste and elements that could wash in during the rain from urban developments (pathways etc.)This approach harvests urban runoff before it sheets off and runs into waterways. Deep rooting of perennials and deep grasses need deep soils. Shedding roots also
opens up pores in soils as the organic matter decays. Perennials therefore improve water infiltration. Having perennial strips, similar to strip cropping on contour lines for water infiltration (and erosion control), would help with water infiltration and ground water recharge. This mechanism slows water and water infiltration with improve soils. Additional services of strips, they filter runoff and erosion control. Filter strips along waterways. Wind breaks protect land from strong winds. 39
Agroforestry
Agroforestry integrates tree crops into agriculture. Agroforestry can be as simple as having one tree species to multiple species. In a more complex agroforestry system, trees can be selected in such a way that they can form a self-sufficient ecosystem. Agroforestry in places around the world have produced 8000 kg per hectare, some of the most productive agroecosystems that have been demonstrated and are great models for communities seeking self-resilient food systems. In agricultural regions especially in tropical and subtropical climatic zones like Hainan, agroforestry can also serve as a way to bring back canopy cover in urbanized settings in addition, agroforestry plots will be part of an educational experience for students on campus. Every year students can add to the various “food forests” across campus or design their own in one of the open green spaces and learn about the different synergies between species. Deep roots in an agroforestry system encourage water percolation and ground water recharge, improved soil health, including increasing carbon, increasing soil microbes, and increasing soil aeration, which is great for accelerating decomposition and nutrient turnover. The tree species that can be added include edibles like fruit and nut trees, timber trees, trees for fodder, and nitrogen fixing trees. Hainan’s old growth forests in the interior are home to 20 economically valuable tree species, most notably, teak and sandalwood. Providing a model for growing these sought-after tree species we hope will help preserve 40
the magnificence of the native forests of Hainan, which today stand as some of the oldest forests in China. Creating a seamless flow between the forest and campus would set apart University Park as the future of sustainable campuses. China in a recent effort to further improve the nation’s sustainability efforts has supported efforts to plant more than 6.6 million hectares of trees and increase the forest land mass from 21.7% to 26% by 2035. University Park can seek funding on an agroforestry program through these reforestation efforts. Additional agroforestry elements include regular and dwarf varieties of fruit trees, where the dwarf varieties could work more effectively in combined annual systems by limiting shading from canopy cover to annuals below. Dwarf varieties will also make harvesting more accessible by hand. With trees for fodder, leaves can be harvested for food for livestock. Also, rapidly growing trees can be used for biomass such as Sesbania spp, a rapidly growing tree used in the tropics for biomass and nitrogen. Uses for these are cooking fuel, biochar, and feedstock for compost piles. The shady understory of a layered agroforestry system also provides exceptionally good growing conditions for cacao and coffee; shade grown cacao and coffee are used to make some of the tastiest coffee and chocolate products around the world.
Innovating on nutrient management in agroforestry at University Park, we will be taking sections of rapidly growing trees (e.g., Sesbania spp.) and other high biomass vegetation (e.g., Vetiver) to the Farm Hub where it will be combining with manure from livestock to create compost (a rich nutrient amendment), that will be ported back onto farms on campus. In a classical agroforestry system, leaf litter falls to the ground and is processed by soil microbes to an earthy mush of nutrient available organic matter. This innovation on a modern take on agroforestry nutrient management brings in the human element to accelerate the natural nutrient cycle in a classical agroforestry system, bolstering a high yielding system on minimal farm inputs. 1. Fertility Optimisation 2. Light Optimisation 3. Biodiversity Preservation 41
Public Transportation Terminal
Muti-Functional Open Space for Community Events and Famer Market.
Slope Green Roof with Sitiing Wall to Retain the irrigation Water.
Surface Flow
Large Filter Garden
ZONE 1 42
Lower Agroforestry of Native Plants
ZONE 2 Stormwater Collection for irrigation
Water + Agricu lt u re + Arch it ect u re =
Living Classroom
Green Roof: An effective infrastructural measure to reduce heat island effect on buildings are the implementation of green roofs (EPA, 2020). Intensive green roofs have a thicker substrate layer and therefore carry more weight. The substrate is the media in which the plants sit, whose thickness depends
on the desired vegetation. This can vary from grass or herbs to trees (Build Up EU, 2017). Intensive green roofs generally require an irrigation system and regular maintenance, just like ordinary gardens. They can capture the rainwater which is not absorbed by the substrate layer; this can be used for irrigation purposes.
ZONE 3 Garden Swale for Education Purpose with the Intergration of Agroforestry
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The Living Classroom The campus will be a place for innovative ideas where agriculture and water management define the University plan. Universities are at the forefront of innovation and are the perfect location to exercise with these new ideas.
· Play a short explanatory film. · Open an augmented reality viewer. This viewer can put different layers on top of reality and show for example how a demonstration plot will look like in different seasons.
Next to research, the task of a university is to educate the world about their findings. This duty of educating people is integrated into every innovative idea on the campus and we have thought about new methods to inspire visitors from around the world. Thereby it is also important to realize that visitors shouldn’t only be enlightened by the structures on campus, but also by the way people live. That is why we want to promote a sustainable lifestyle and inclusiveness too.
· Open a small game, which explains in a fun and competitive way how the feature works. For example, a short quiz about greywater, which includes an online leaderboard. These QR codes open a new digital world and thereby educate people about the campus and its innovation.
QR: digitalisation creates possibilities for education QR signs will be placed at moments around campus allowing people to engage digitally with their environment. Every student, professor or visitor can use their phone out and scan the QR code. The QR code will bring up a website with more information about the project and how it functions. This new age creates also possibilities for interactive ways to explain the features of the campus in a better way. Some examples of these interactive ways are An example of how augmented reality can provide information (Richardson, 2016) 44
Interactive Community for All It is important to realize that visitors shouldn’t only be enlightened by the structures on campus, but also by the way people live. An inspiring trend in science nowadays is “open access”. There is a growing idea that knowledge must be accessible to everyone. In addition to the way the universities publish their work; they can also change the way they interact with society in real life. To make this message of inclusiveness reality, we made the following design choices to create an “open access” university: · Public transportation should be free and suited to be used by people with disabilities. · Signage will offer various translations to make it easy to navigate for the international community. · The campus will have tactile paving and rings for traffic lights to guide the blind. · There will be a language center, where everyone can study different languages including sign language. This will contribute to the global character of the campus and its inclusiveness. · The campus will be open for everyone, including local people.
why we created a campus, where students can live as affordably possible. Furthermore, we wanted to create a community that lives in a sustainable way to be an inspiration for others. That is why the following ideas for a shared economy should be implemented: · All visitors can rent a bike by using an app. Bikes can easily be unlocked and easily ridden off. They are often checked for malfunctions by mechanics. · There will be several shared toolsheds on campus. In this way, students can easily pick up the right equipment for repairs. There will also be toolsheds for gardening so students can help with picking fruits and weeding.
Shared economy: sustainable and accessible for everyone In line with the idea that we want to let visitors be felt inspired by the way people live on campus. We want to showcase a campus, where finances will not define the academic possibilities. That is
An example of a shared bike facility (Dunn, 2017) 45
Conclusion |
... together not alone
Our masterplan “Tying Together with Nature” follows the idea of a traditional Chinese tie. This tie consists of two ropes: green and blue, which represents agriculture and water. Agriculture and water management are the focus areas of the universities and closely related to the history of this land. Furthermore, the third component of this project is the idea of the living classroom. Visitors should be able to follow this tie and learn more from the environment. The green rope, which represents agriculture, can be seen all over the campus. Linking strips will run across campus to connect ecosystems and be grounds for new research. Innovative ways of working with nature include agroforestry and a duck-rice system. The blue rope, which represents water, flows across campus too. Inspired by the livelihoods of the local Li-people floating markets will arise along the river and fishery will take place in the mangroves. 46
Everyone knows how hard it is to understand a complex tie. We don’t want visitors to be lost in this tie, but to be inspired. A campus should be a catalysator of change for the world, it is important to realize that visitors shouldn’t only be enlightened by the structures on campus, but also by the way people live. That is why we want to promote a sustainable lifestyle and inclusiveness by incorporating ideas of a shared economy and accessible landscape. In this way our campus will become a true “living classroom”. This campus will be a place to build bridges between agriculture and water, knowledge and the public. It will be the place for future scientists, students and citizens to meet and develop solutions for pressing issues of today and tomorrow. We hope that you, as a future visitor, student or researcher, will be inspired by this unique campus and will be able to “Tie Together with Nature”.
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References Augustyn, A. (2020). Agriculture and Fishing. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Hainan/Agriculture-and-fishing Brito, C. (2020). The Ecological Brick. Bright Hub Engineering. Build Up EU. (2017). Which are the different types of green roofs? https://www.buildup.eu/en/learn/ask-the-experts/which-are-different types-green-roofs de Julio. (2020). China plantará 6,6 millones de hectáreas para luchar contra la contaminación. Info Campo. https:// www.infocampo.com.ar/china-plantara-66-millones-de-hectareas-para-luchar-contra-la-contaminacion/ Donato, D.C., Kauffman, J.B., Murdiyarso, D., Kurnianto, S., Stidham, M., Kanninen, M. (2011). Mangroves among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics. Nature Geoscience. doi:10.1038/ngeo1123 Dunea. (2020). Hoe wordt uw drinkwater gemaakt? https://www.dunea.nl/drinkwater/hoe-wordt-uw-drinkwater-gemaakt Dunn, M. (2017). Shared Mobility. EPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2020). Using Green Roofs to Reduce Heat Islands. https://www.friendsofglass.com/ history/5-gruende-warum-glas-ein-nachhaltig-guter-freund-ist/ Floating Farm. (2020). De Farm. https://floatingfarm.nl/contact French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD). (2019). 4th World Congress on Agroforestry. https:// agroforestry2019.cirad.fr GroenBlauw. (2020). Vertical helophyte filters. UrbanGreenBlueGrids. Gu, K., & Wall, G. (2007). Rapid urbanization in a transitional economy in China: the case of Hainan Island. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 28(2), 158–170.
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References Leschin-Hoar. (2012). The big blue: Can deepwater fish farming be sustainable? Grist. https://grist.org/food/the-big-blue-can-deep-water fish-farming-be-sustainable/ Plant-e. (2020). INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY. https://www.plant-e.com/en/informatie/ RainProof, A. (2020). Projecten. Richardson, J. (2016). EON Reality Introduces EON Geo To Add Geo-Positional Augmented Reality To The EON AVR Platform. https:// eonreality.com/eon-reality-introduces-eon-geo-add-geo-positional-augmented-reality-eon-avr-platform/ Schrama, N. (2015). How to generate electricity from living plants. World Economic Forum. United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Defence Council (NRCS). (2015). Control Soil Erosion, Maintain and Improve Water Quality with Vetiver Barriers. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/PA_NRCSConsumption/download/?cid=nrcseprd412270&ext=pdf. Xie, Z., Zhou, C., Shah, F. et al. The role of Chinese Milk Vetch as cover crop in complex soil nitrogen dynamics in rice rotation system of South China. Sci Rep 8, 12061 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30239-6 Yujun, L. (2020). Chinese milkvetch: Little purple flowers that serve as green manure. CGTN. Zhang, L., Wang, L., Cunningham, A.B. et al. Island blues: indigenous knowledge of indigo-yielding plant species used by Hainan Miao and Li dyers on Hainan Island, China. J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine 15, 31 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-019-0314-3
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