Reconciling the Vast Potential of the Waterfront: A Methodology for Coastal City Planning
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Architecture Wentworth Institute of Technology by
Kyle A. Stroveglia Bachelors of Science in Architecture Wentworth Institute of Technology, 2016 In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Architecture April 2017
.......................................................................... Submitted by Kyle A. Stroveglia Department of Architecture
.......................................................................... Certified by Robert Cowherd, PhD Primary Thesis Supervisor
.......................................................................... Accepted by Kelly Hutzell, AIA Director of Graduate Program
Š 2017 Kyle A. Stroveglia. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to Wentworth Institute of Technology permission to reproduce and to publicly distribute copies of this thesis document in whole or in part using paper, electronic, and any medium now known or hereafter created.
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Bridgeport Harbor, CT.
Abstract The sea is a thing of beauty, but also a thing of destruction. With the rising sea levels due to climate change, coastal cities are realizing the importance of their waterfront that was once viewed as a dumping area for all the undesirable structures that the city placed on the edges away from downtown. The undesirable structures such as elevated highways, railways and other infrastructures like power plants have created poor edge conditions that appear impossible to change. They are uninviting and will need more than a few new buildings to effectively revitalize the area into a destination. Using Bridgeport Harbor, Connecticut as a testing site where a methodology can be applied, this investigation goes beyond Bridgeport to benefit other coastal cities with similar problems looking at a possible process for counteracting these issues of image. This thesis looks at creating a master plan as an end result of an unconventional process of form generation by designing a city through it skyline from the views of approach, while thinking about the ideas behind “aqua-tecture.” This project uses the rising sea level as an opportunity to re-imagine our coastal areas. Thereby creating a place where the people and the infrastructure can embrace the water as part of the community reconciling the vast potential of the waterfront through new building and habitable methods of flood protection going beyond Coastal Resilience.
Key Terms Infrastructure - Includes the basic equipment and structures that are required for the operation of a society.
“Aqua-tecture” - Term coined by Robert Barker and Richard Coutis, where architecture embraces the water viewing the threat of the sea as an opportunity for re-imagining an area.
Reconciling - Restoring friendly relations between two or more entities creating a compatibility or coexistence
Coastal Resilience from effecting an area.
Addresses our ability to prevent a short-term hazard (In this case the hazard = Sea)
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Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it. - Lao Tzu
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2. Literature Review
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2.1 Narrative Lines 2.2 Water; a thing of Beauty...
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1. Introduction
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1.1 Thesis Argument 1.2 Site Selection
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Kyle A. Stroveglia **This publication contains selected works all done by the author unless otherwise noted. The work showcases the investigations of his Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 semester while in Wentworth Institute of Technology's M.Arch. program. 8
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4. Critical Evaluation
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4.1 Fall 2016 Semester 4.2 Spring 2017 Semester
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3. Design as Research
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3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4
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Analysis Synthesis Method Design Outcomes
5. Notes
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5.1 Bibliography 5.2 List of Images
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12 | Thesis Argument
Thesis Statement Following a strict form generation methodology for re-imagining a city though views of approach can transform the uninviting dumping grounds once for unwanted structures into a revitalized, active community that is in it self a destination. Site |
Bridgeport Harbor, Connecticut
Argument Our climate is rapidly changing, icecaps are melting and our seas are rising. Coastal cities such as Bridgeport could be flooded by 2080, unless we take action before it is too late. Learning from New Orleans, the question is not if Bridgeport's coastal areas will change, but instead who will be the ones changing it? Will we be the ones changing it or will we wait until Mother nature changes it for us, taking back what was once hers? We need to stop procrastinating and change it first, while we still can. In doing so we also must view the change as a new start to the area allowing it to no longer be held back by infrastructural elements creating the Coastal city destination that should have been there in the first place. As a destination it should be able to attract people from all around. This is why this thesis looks at the main approaches into the city through it's skyline, making sure that every view of the city feels like an inviting entrance that could be on a postcard. A skyline has become a unique fingerprint for areas that are highly identifiable thanks to media such as televised sporting events to immediately set a scene describing a places atmosphere. This is why the skyline is the key to reconciling our coastal edges currently viewed as undesirable places to live, work and visit.
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Why Bridgeport, Connecticut While taking the ferry from Port Jefferson, NY. (Near where I live) to Bridgeport, CT., I overheard people talking about how you can’t just walk around in Bridgeport because their are no walkways, shops, restaurants and it just simply is not an inviting area. This got me thinking about how opposite Port Jefferson is in comparison. People often go to just walk around for the day in Port Jefferson to visit the shops, restaurants and enjoy the views. This same day I noticed how high the water was and what really surprised me was the area by the power plant. The water was what seemed like inches from the electrical equipment. Upon researching this area, I came to find out that there are new developments forming around the area and the power plant is being moved. The new plans for the plant in 2019 are one third the size opening up lots of land. I saw this as Bridgeport's chance to change taking advantage of the newly available land to activate its inner harbor to become a destination just like Port Jefferson.
Site Importance Bridgeport Harbor is a very unique opportunity in that it has lots of land available for change and much of the area around it is being or planned to be redeveloped. Most importantly, the area already has the infrastructure established that would connect the Harbor with Downtown and even all the of the New England States. The harbor has a Ferry connecting it to Long Island as well as Amtrak right next to the ferry connecting Boston's South Station all the way through Connecticut and New York's Penn Station to Washington DC. This is not to mention that there also is a Bus terminal just a block past the train station. Instead of being an area heavily passed through, it can become a common destination. With the Power plant moving and areas around changing, this is the areas chance to re-imagine it self before mother nature does it for us.
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Where is Bridgeport, Connecticut? Bridgeport is located in Connecticut across the Sound from Long Island connected by the Port Jefferson (NY) to Bridgeport Ferry with a sailing time of approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. It acts as the threshold between all of Long Island and states above. This seaport city on the eastern edge of the United States is bound by the Long Island Sound to the South, New York to the West, Rhode Island to the East and Massachusetts to the North. It could become the hinge point for all of these areas creating a common coastal destination. 41.17 latitude and -73.20 longitude Site Selection | 17
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Narrative Lines | 21
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Water; a thing of beauty... and destruction Creating Habitable Flood Defenses
Summary On August 29, 2005, New Orleans witnessed the threat of water first hand during Hurricane Katrina, learning that simply walling off a city is not enough. We no longer can continue to expand our cities thinking there is no consequence, nor can we view water as a threat. Water is a thing of beauty that if we stray from the norm, we can find new ways to live and work with the water embracing it as part of the community. In doing so we can enjoy its beauty in a safe well integrated environment thinking about it in terms of "Aquatecture." Certain coastal areas have already started preparing for this future threat so why hasn't everyone? This review looks at what the threats to our coastal cities are besides just the raising sea level. It also looks at what's causing these threats followed by how we can address the issues ranging in solutions from policies to design maintaining a focus on infrastructure and community.
This review is broken down into three main sections: Introduction Coastal Resilience Infrastructure Community Conclusion
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W
ater; a thing of beauty... and destruction. Water is patient, slowly taking its time wearing down any thing in its path as it carves into the earth. Nothing
can resist water, water always wins. On August 29, 2005, New Orleans witnessed the threat of water first hand, during Hurricane Katrina. The levee walls once thought to be impenetrable, were breached resulting in water rushing into the "bowl like city."1
Figure 1: Photo taken of the levee wall section on the east side of the Industrial Canal at around 4:30am when it was breached. The already 6-foot below sea level area (Lower Ninth Ward) was quickly flooded with water. The water came rushing in with such force that it ripped homes right off of their foundations. Photo Location | New Orleans Photo Credit | www.npr.org
The general consensus was that anything stronger than a category 3 hurricane would be highly unlikely. This "gamble" resulted in the majority of the city being flooded and the devastation of this mistake can still be seen today. Areas such as the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans are still attempting to recover and prepare for the next big storm, but no defense can be completely impenetrable.
Figure 2: Photo taken of the Lower Ninth Ward after the flood waters receded having been flooded by up to 10-feet of water for NOLA. This site was the location were the barge that was all over the news crashed through the levee wall causing a breach, but now Brad Pitt's Make It Right foundation line the street helping to rebuilding the community. Photo Location | New Orleans Photograph by Ellis Lucia
1 G. L. Sills, “Overview of New Orleans Levee Failures: Lessons Learned and Their Impact on National Levee Design and Assessment.” Journal of Geotechnical & Geo-environmental Engineering 134, no. 5 (May 2008): 556.
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Storms like hurricane Katrina are only just the beginning. Not just for New Orleans, but for the majority of coastal cities. Due to climate changes caused by global warming, the sea levels are rising, storms are becoming stronger and more frequent. These issues are nothing new, it’s just that people are only now starting to take an interest as the problem is becoming more urgent. Ever since the industrial revolution in the 18th Century, there has been a higher amount of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and CH4 (Methane) than the last million years in our atmosphere. The same amount of CO2 that was emitted over thousands of years between the long natural glacial-interglacial cycles, mankind has matched within just 100 years. Scientists believe that the global temperature has increased by 0.85°C (33.53°F) since 1880. This severe increase has been attributed by the trapping of CO2 and CH4 along with other energy from the sun, also referred to as greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere (Greenhouse Effect), in addition with the warming of
Glacial-interglacial cycles are a cycle of the glacial period and interglacial period. A glacial period is an interval of time spanning thousands of years within an ice age, while an interglacials are periods of warmer climate in between glacial periods.
oceans, an approximate 8-inch sea level rise, the melting of icecaps were an estimated 40 percent decline in Artic sea ice and an increase in extreme weather events.2 Cities’ coastal energy facilities and communities are in grave jeopardy in the face of this rising threat. The future of climate change will be one of the defining challenges of coastal cities in the way that they develop. Over the course of the next several decades, the threat will only get worse, challenging human society unless some serious changes are made.
This review looks at the problem at hand with the intent
of understanding the impact that sea level rise will have on our nation’s coastal areas, urging people to address the issue through design solutions. In terms of solutions, this review analyses the most promising responses including: New York’s “Big U” project, and the Dutch water landscape methods. These approaches are examined 2 Mark Maslin, “What is climate change?” Climate Change: A Very Short Introduction, 3rd Edition (Oxford, 2014; Online Edition, Oct. 2014), http://www.veryshortintroductions.com.ezproxywit.flo.org/ view/10.1093/actrade/9780198719045.001.0001/actrade-9780198719045-chapter-1: 10.
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in three sections. In the first section, we will examine the underlying causes of the threat to coastlines and our need for action. Second, we will review the criteria for successful infrastructure measures. There is so much more to consider in coastal resilience than just walling off the water. Infrastructure and community play crucial roles in making a coastal area truly resilient and successful overall. This is why the third section addresses community with the end goal of promoting living with water.
Coastal Resilience: Why we need it...
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oastal resilience is a very serious matter that needs to be addressed within our nation’s coastal cities. We may be able to account for the impacts of sea level rise over
the next 20 years, but unfortunately this has made people push off any urgency on the topic. Instead of using this as an excuse for procrastination, this period of grace should be utilized to prepare for the future while we have the chance. If we wait until we need to drastically change our coastal areas, it will be too late.3 The issue of the rising sea that is driving the need for change, is a consequence of human activity and the way in which society works. The problem with society is that it is built so the organizations that are able to plunder the largest amount of the Earth’s natural resources as quickly as possible with the least concern for the environment, will become the most successful. Companies only care about making money, disregarding how much pollution they actually contribute too, how many trees they cut down or how many Eco-systems they end up destroying including our own. This is not to say that it is only their fault, there are in fact numerous factors at work.
3 Vivian Gornitz, Stephen Couch, and Ellen K. Hartig, “Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the New York City Metropolitan Area.” Global and Planetary Change 32, no. 1 (June 1, 2001): 85.
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The pollution, and anthropogenic activities, such as urbanization, landfilling, dredging, and so much more, are causing our environment’s natural protection to disappear a little with each passing second.4 Most of the problem is pollution mainly created by automobiles and the factories they are built in.5
Figure 3: Photo taken for NBC News of traffic on an eight-lane expressway in Beijing, China. The "Smog-choked" city is trying to cut down on air pollution by taking steps to restrict the sales of new cars. Photo Location | China Photograph by Wang Zhao
There is an estimate of over 980 million cars in the world contributing to pollution. Even the electric cars require companies to use fossil fuels in order to create their electricity. In doing so power plants have been pumping their exhaust straight into the atmosphere for years in order to create power for our civilization.
Figure 4: Photo taken by NASA with the intent of capturing the full impact of our power plants on our air quality, This photo was part of an article about NASA's Satellite allowing them to map the human "Fingerprint" on the global scale. Photo Location | Unknown Photo Credit | www.nasa.gov
Up until now these issues haven’t really been taken on. We as a nation seem to always wait until something is in desperate need of change before people really get involved. 4 Gornitz, Couch, and Hartig, “Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the New York City Metropolitan Area,” 61. 5 Alec Hohensee, “How Does the Melting Ice Affect the Environment?” Regents Earth Science. EJ's Jeopardy, 2016 (Accessed http://www.regentsearthscience.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=66&id =1074:how-does-the-melting-ice-affect-the-environment. (November 25, 2016.)
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Now that we have a general idea of the causes, what exactly are the effects that require a design solution. The first idea that usually comes to mind while thinking on the threat of water, is flooding, but there are so many more coastal issues than just flooding that need to be studied. While designing a coastal area, it is important to consider all of the issues of an area in order to make it resilient. The design for flooding needs to plan for other coastal issues or hazards including the raising sea, rain fall, wetland losses, erosion of the shoreline and storm surges to name a few.6 Alan Feuer looks at Coastal resilience requires a unique design solution for each site addressing all of its issues. It is possible that one forgotten issue could weaken a defense causing it to fail in an instants that it otherwise could handle just fine. Something such as to much rain fall could weaken the footings of certain barriers.
dealing with storm surges in, “Building for the Next Big Storm.” He focuses on New York City after being hit by Hurricane Sandy, but the ideas he covers can be applied anywhere with similar conditions and problems.7 Hurricane Sandy also known as “Superstorm Sandy” hit New York City on October 29, 2012 and surpassed the surge level record of 10.02 feet from Hurricane Donna in 1960 by 3.86 feet at Battery Park. In addition to this it reached a record level of surf. The Harbor’s measured a 32.5-foot wave when buoy which was 6.5 feet taller than that of Hurricane Irene in 2011 breaking the past record.8 Storm surge is very closely related to sea level, because the higher the water level, the more water there is thereby increasing the potential size of waves that hit the coast. Too often we hear that these storms hit at high tide resulting in the most devastation exceeding the projections. Sea levels are expected to rise by as much as 30 inches within the next four decades. That would be the worst case scenario, but this data is likely to change between now and then since this is only a projection. No projection can account for everything, but if it does come to pass, about 800,000 city residents lie in the projection flood zone for New York. Hurricane Sandy was a definite eye opener for New York City leading to the plans for the “Big U” project.9
6 Gornitz, Couch, and Hartig, “Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the New York City Metropolitan Area,” 63. 7 Alan Feuer, “Building for the Next Big Storm,” New York Times. (October 26, 2014): 1-6. 8 “Hurricane Sandy Fast Facts,” CNN, 2012, http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/hurricane-sandy-fast-facts/index.html. (Accessed November 03, 2016). 9 Feuer, “Building for the Next Big Storm,” 1.
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With Hurricane Sandy being attributed to 48 deaths in New York alone and having flooded numerous streets and even parts of the subway,10 it is hard to see why these issues of coastal resilience are only now slowly becoming important in the publics eyes.
Figure 5: Photo taken for Business Insider after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 showing a flooded subway entrance. All five tunnels that are between lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, Steinway Tube, Midtown and Queens were flooded. Each station took at least a week to pump out the water and that was only the first step. Approximately 8.5 million people travel across America's densest city each day using the subway system and yet many of the existing tunnels in lower Manhattan can completely flood in under 40 minutes with any storm equivalent to Sandy. Photo Location | New York City Photograph by Allison Joyce
We need to study these previous disasters and use them to benefit us. By studying their impacts, we can determine the area’s most likely at risk for the next big storm and prepare a plan of action.11 With sea level-rise being estimated for eastern North American at around 1.3 mm/yr. in addition to the fact that storm surges are becoming stronger and more frequent, we need to focus on designing for the worst case scenarios, but in doing so we can’t forget about the other issues of water including beach erosion.12
Beach erosion is a constant issue that is frequently
intensified by the actions of man. This is due to our continuous trapping of silt and sand in upstream reservoirs, sand mining, disruption of long-shore drift by groins and breakwaters13 among other things. In attempting to deal with storm surge protection for future storms, there is a tendency to create physical barriers also referred to as hard structures.
10 “Hurricane Sandy Fast Facts,” CNN, 2012, http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/hurricane-sandy-fast-facts/index.html. (Accessed November 03, 2016). 11 Feuer, “Building for the Next Big Storm,” 1-6. 12 Gornitz, Couch, and Hartig, “Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the New York City Metropolitan Area,” 63. 13 Ibid., 63.
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Example: Westhampton beach, NY, in attempting to control nature with a jetty, has caused the backing up of sand on one side increasing the distance of the homes from the water, while the other side intensified erosion to such an extent that 12 homes have been pulled down in the first five years alone.
Of these hard structures, no matter which one, they all often seem to end up increasing erosion. If the design doesn't take all factors into account such as if it’s placement is just slightly off, the strategy implemented to protect the area ends up destroying the same area by enhancing beach erosion.
Figure 6: Photo taken of hardened beach structures (Jetties) for the purpose of banning these types of methods. Coastal Care group claims that the beach sand is our first line of defense against the water for coastal communities and it needs to be preserved storms are worsening. Their ban is based on (1) The data on the detrimental impacts of erosion control structures and; (2) The 150 years of data on the negative impacts of shoreline stabilization at the barrier islands in New Jersey. Photo Location | North Carolina Photo Credit | coastalcare.org
In the image above, despite the use of numerous jetties, the erosion is still happening just to a different manner. This is not to say that hard structures never work, they could very well be successful It is just the fact that even if these hard structures are designed well, for many, erosion is prone at their bases until they eventually become overwhelmed. Due to sea level rise and the inevitable erosion at the bases, existing hard structures will need to be strengthened and elevated repeatedly.14 These erosion problems that are associated with hard structures, have made the soft approach the preferred means of protection. Beach dunes are examples of soft barriers that are able to be a major line of defense against wave attack.15 Other options we often overlook include using mollusks, peats, woods, corals (a.k.a. Late Holocene sea level proxies). These can be used in coastal areas as a long-term sea level solution as well as a way to reduce erosion.16 14 15 16
Gornitz, Couch, and Hartig, “Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the New York City Metropolitan Area,� 80. Ibid., 1. Ibid., 63.
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In trying to battle erosion, cities often use what they call
sand re-nourishment projects. These projects occur periodically at many locations to counteract the shoreline erosion. What they do in order to achieve this is “borrow” sand from nearby offshore sand bar locations. The sand is very similar to the original beach sand.17
Figure 7: Photo taken just north of the Jupiter Civic Center in Palm Beach, Florida. There is a massive sand re-nourishment program underway as part of their shoreline protection plan. They are using the deposit from dredging about 1,200-1,500 feet off shore. Photo Location | Florida Photo Credit | Palm beach news
Other methods to limit erosion of the shoreline include using protective or hard structures that are not long lasting. They require additional sand replenishment constantly and because of this, the result ultimately ends in retreat.18 Retreat from the water front in order to create buffer zones for coastal areas is likely our best response.19 The problem with this is the fact that the population is constantly growing creating a demand for land to be highly "densified" and most areas have already been built up. This means that there are less chances to create natural buffer zones,20 which is why hard structures such as seawalls, groins, jetties, and breakwaters are so commonly used in urban areas. If well designed a hard structure could be very effective,21 but more long lasting methods that benefit the area beyond just defending the water regardless of the tide, need to be found and implemented.22 17 Gornitz, Couch, and Hartig, “Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the New York City Metropolitan Area,” 68. 18 Ibid., 80. 19 Ibid., 83. 20 Ibid., 62. 21 Ibid., 80. 22 Robert Barker and Richard Coutts, “From flood threat to urban opportunity: in this extract from a new book, Aquatecture, ” RIBA Journal 123, no. 3. (March 2016): 55.
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Infrastructure: Key to Achieving Coastal Resilience
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oastal cities can create different ways to barricade off the water, but that alone isn’t enough to make a coastal area truly resilient and successful overall. Even if we
manage to protect our coasts from the rising threat, it may not matter for very long. If society continues operating in the same manner that has gotten us to this day and age, it won't be long before the defenses become obsolete and need to be strengthened. The cycle will continue until we learn to care more for our environment or give in to the water, retreating from the shoreline. This is why we need to look beyond standard physical defenses and focus on how it can work in tandem with the infrastructures of the area including economics, policies, and services to name a few.
In an extraction of a book entitled, “Aquatecture” by
Robert Barker, and Richard Coutts, the authors address the connection between infrastructure and flood defense stating that, the inter-relationship of different parts of our infrastructure at the city scale become essential to the continuity of services. These services they discuss range from power to flood defenses and a break down of any single service would significantly impact the people and business within the area.23 According to them, infrastructure as a whole can end up providing multiple benefits. These benefits they describe could include green and blue ways or corridors as the authors refer to it, conduits for other services, energy and transport. This would allow for neighborhoods to have one interconnected energy and /or heating system while providing safe havens for the general public from flooding.24 With a focus on infrastructure within resiliency plans, cities are able to combated the
23 24
Barker and Coutts, “From flood threat to urban opportunity: in this extract from a new book, Aquatecture," 2 . Ibid., 2-3.
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water by providing notifications or disclosures of potential coastal hazards before property purchases. This simple measure would drastically cut down on the amount of people living in these highrisk areas.25 According to the American Institute of Architects, the damage to New York from Hurricane Sandy was worsened by “centuries of misguided development policies.”26 Being stricter on where communities develop is very important and seems like an easy fix, but when it comes down to it, economics has the final say, since everyone is out to make money. The cities want more people coming in to spend money and developers want to build on as much land as they can, regardless of the environment. New land may even be created when they run out through landfilling. Thats only one example of the influence of money, but cities do need money in order to under go such resiliency plans. With that said, it is unfortunate because only places that have money or ones that are considered valuable have the money to spent on resiliency while the places in need of change often aren’t seen as being worth the time and money. Ironically the areas that have money to spend or are seen as valuable usually are well kept and not in desperate
Areas of importance: An area occupying a desirable piece of property or an area consisting of a large population or a major contributer of goods.
need of resiliency in the first place. In order for an area to be important, the area wants to be a dense residential area, but the flaw in this ideology is that when an area is built up, there is rarely any land to create the defenses it may need.27
Even if areas have a clear vision for a long-term goal of
myriad actions that could be undertaken immediately including the protection of services such as highways and subway entrances in addition to the rising of harbor-walks, the establishing of an elevated datum for buildings, the relocation electrical and mechanical equipment out of basements to be above the anticipated flood levels, and the development of defenses including sea walls and 25 26 27
Gornitz, Couch, and Hartig, “Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the New York City Metropolitan Area,” 84. Feuer, “Building for the Next Big Storm,” 4. Gornitz, Couch, and Hartig, “Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the New York City Metropolitan Area,” 84.
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storm-surge reservoirs, they will need enough money and time to do so.28 The Dutch commission are able to commit an average of $2 billion per year to embrace the principles of humanism and sustainability as fundamental values that drive how they progress forward resulting in a model that all other countries strive to follow.29
Apart from economics, the biggest challenge is not to
succumb to the fears of inundation, or to the possible changes in taxes, but to instead view the possible opportunities of employment, urban revitalization, and social equity that could take place. Viewing this problem of water with vision and discipline, presents a rare opportunity to re-imagine the city in a manner that benefits its economy, and its people.30 We just need to remember to coordinate our efforts keeping in mind that protecting one building from the water on the site isn’t enough if the neighboring property doesn’t do the same. We need to ensure the defenses maintain the same standards of protection in order to avoid any weak spots creating one sturdy continuous line of defense. All it takes is one breach to flood an entire area.31
Community:
Water as a Part of the Community
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hile planning ways to defend against the water in order to make a coastal area resilient, the obvious first thought is to create some kind of barrier that would
help to essentially wall off the city from the water, but walling off the city will likely only lead to more problems just like in New Orleans. Their city is sinking due to the extreme flood defense methods that they have implemented. In attempting to address the 28 Hubert Murray and Antonio Di Mambro, "Working with Water is a lot Better than Working against It," The High Tide of Opportunity, vol. 13 (2010), , Summer 2010, accessed November 25, 2016, https://www.architects. org/architectureboston/articles/high-tide-opportunity. 27. 29 Ibid., 26. 30 Ibid., 27. 31 Barker and Coutts, “From flood threat to urban opportunity: in this extract from a new book, Aquatecture," 4 .
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issues posed by water, they have created even more issues for them selves. In addition, the walls have completely eliminated any views of the water making it a coastal city that doesn’t feel like one.32 What is the point of living on the coast, if all you see is a concrete wall? Of the levee system, one of the more drastic spots is the main gate to the defense system that in addition to separating the water from the city, it literally separates the people on either side of it.
Figure 8: Photo taken during my study abroad trip to New Orleans. The photo shows the view as you approach the main gate to exit the flood protection system heading into Delacroix. Many fishermen live out there without any type of flood protection despite its extreme flooding. Many of their homes are elevated 10-20 feet up in the air. Photo Location | New Orleans Photograph by Sean Reis
After Hurricane Sandy hit New York, the city had to rebuild and try to find ways to prepare for the next big storm because it is not a matter of if, but when. Looking at how to go about a resilient New York, there were calls for a single big fix initially, like sea gates that would close off New York Harbor to swells of rising water.
Figure 9: Rendering of the multi-billion dollar sea gate proposal for New York City that would act as a surge barrier following Dutch design to prevent future flooding that occurred during Hurricane Sandy. The barrier has an operable open in the center to allow passing shipping into the harbor while being able to close in the case of storms Photo Location | New York City Image Credit | www.citylab.com
Hurricane Sandy is not the only reason that New York has been leading to thoughts of sea gates. After Hurricane Carol and Donna hit in the 1960s the Army Corps of Engineers proposed barriers be
32 G. L. Sills, “Overview of New Orleans Levee Failures: Lessons Learned and Their Impact on National Levee Design and Assessment,” (May 2008): 556-565.
Water; a thing of beauty... | 35
constructed at Throgs Neck in the Bronx and at the Narrows. These projects were never constructed due to some environmental concerns and a lack of financing, however, there have been plans again for a giant swinging gate, but this time at the mouth of Jamaica Bay. In addition to this there are also plans for a 15-foot, steel-and-concrete wall to run the length of Coney Island.33
Instead of just building barriers, we should think even more
like the Dutch, beside just using a similar sea gate design and create “Aquatecture.” Aquatecture is a termed coined by Robert Barker and Richard Coutis in which they describe as being architecture that is designed to live and work with water, but the term goes even beyond that. They go further stating that flood threats should be seen as opportunities rather than a threat.34 These new measures would need to be an integral part of the urban landscape design in order to have long lasting benefits. All while allowing the city to continue to grow and evolve beyond its current footprint in The New York City Sea Gate follows the Dutch design, but appears to forget the integration of the landscape that makes it become more than just a wall or structure allowing it to integrate well within the area.
a manner that considers the water part of the community.35 Where defenses are required, designs using this approach of trying to live with water are turning the threat of water into an opportunity to benefit the area. For example, something as simple as creating buffer space between a community and the river edge, the defense methods can be an integral part of the city plan, driving the design of public spaces, parks and even road networks, rather than enclosing the river.36 A great example of this would be the creation of a wetlands park like the Minghu Wetland Park in Liupanshui City, along the Shuicheng River by Turenscape Landscape Architecture. The intent of Minghu Wetland Park and other wetland parks in general is to create an ecological infrastructure that unlike a levee will increase the value of the urban water front land.
33 34 35 36
Feuer, “Building for the Next Big Storm,” 1-6. Barker and Coutts, “From flood threat to urban opportunity: in this extract from a new book, Aquatecture,” 2 . Ibid., 2-3. Ibid., 4.
36 | Water; a thing of beauty...
It is also a means of re-creating a natural self-flood control system or self-purification through an ecological process. It is a great example of embracing the water creating a harmonized relationship between human and nature for the new generation.37
Figure 10: Photo taken of Minghu Wetland Park intended to transform a once polluted river into a city lifeline. The park connects the river with a basin, fish ponds and near by streams in combination with vegetation creating a natural embankment. Photo Location | Liupanshui City Photo Source | landezine.com
Before New York City moved forward with any sea gates, they looked for alternatives to be brought to the table besides a massive "wall" including stone revetments on Coney Island Creek to prevent “backdoor flooding."38 The obsession with creating massive sea walls had finally been dropped realizing that it is easily to build walls, but walls would likely only be used .01 percent of the time and that is during crises. The goal instead for New York has been to create something that is aesthetically pleasing, well designed and useful all the time instead of just that .01 percent of the time in
The term walls is referring to a simple hard structure acting as a barrier such as a levee that has no other purpose than to control the water.
crisis.39 New York City wanted a design that would be able to benefit the community regardless of if it is high tide, low tide.
Having this new mind set more in line with the intent of
“Aquatecture,” there have been plenty of new envisions for New York including one with a waterfront greenway, a network of levees and a new power plant in the Bronx. In the same proposal there was also plans to plant oyster beds and reefs off the shore to help reduce waves.40 This project is a good example of introducing many individual strategies, but New York was more interested in one
37 "Minghu Wetland Park," Landscape Architecture Works Landezine RSS. http://www.landezine.com/index. php/2014/08/minghu-wetland-park-by-turenscape/. (Accessed November 27, 2016). 38 Feuer, “Building for the Next Big Storm," .1 39 Ibid., 2. 40 Ibid., 2-3.
Water; a thing of beauty... | 37
continuous line of defense instead of select moments of defense.41 This led them to the proposal called the “Big U.” It was far more ambitious than most in that it attempted to create one connected system of separate coordinated proposals in order to protect Lower Manhattan from any impacts of climate change.42
Figure 11: Rendering for the "Big U" proposal as apart of the Rebuild by Design competition showing what is being referred to as"The Harbor Berm;" an elevated path through the park. Photo Location | New York City Photo Source | Archdaily.com
This "U' shaped proposal "fosters an improved public realm with its 10 continuous miles of protection tailoring a unique response for each individual neighborhood showing a true understanding of social infrastructure helping to protect and enhance the city.43 The project mainly makes use of berms that act as walls while blending into the newly created landscapes designed with the people in mind encouraging engagement through activities.44
Figure 12: Rendering for the "Big U" proposal as a part of the Rebuild by Design competition showing what is being referred to as "The Bridging Berm;" a vertical means of protection for the Lower East side. Photo Location | New York City Photo Source | Archdaily.com
41 Barker and Coutts, “From flood threat to urban opportunity: in this extract from a new book, Aquatecture, ” 55. 42 "NYC: The BIG U | Rebuild By Design." http://www.rebuildbydesign.org/our-work/all-proposals/winning-projects/big-u. (Accessed November 27, 2016). 43 Ibid. 44 Feuer, “Building for the Next Big Storm,” 2.
38 | Water; a thing of beauty...
The “Big U” project is a great example of using the Dutch
ideas to create an ecosystem that could act as a barrier rather than having a literal wall, where people are able to live with the water and embrace it as part of their community.45 This project also helps show that we as a nation are starting to understand that we need to stop assuming that a city can endlessly expand without consequence.46 We like to live near the water, so we as architects should find ways to both live near the water and with the water in a safe manner. Water shouldn’t be viewed as our foe;47 it can be our friend if we let it. After all mother nature is just reclaiming what was hers in the first place.
A
s we move forward into the next several decades, it is
clear that a majority of our coast lines will change. The question is not how do we prevent this, but instead
whether we will be the ones changing them or if it will be Mother Nature changing them for us. Perhaps we can find a middle ground, which is likely the best solution instead of merely engineering a solution in which we continue to attempt to control mother nature or the alternative of retreating from the coast entirely. Man has constantly said that any problem can be solved through engineering in our favor. This mind set has led to some fantastic leaps forward, but that same mind set has also led us to this raising threat. We can no longer assume that a city can endlessly expand without repercussion.48 While this threat may not seem immediate to most especially since cities and metropolitan areas have already started slowly taking action, it needs to be viewed as a very urgent matter by everyone. The best plans on the issue will be meaningless if they are not completed in time in their entirety.49 The goal should not be to respond to disaster but instead we should to preempt it.50 45 Feuer, “Building for the Next Big Storm," 1. 46 Barker and Coutts, “From flood threat to urban opportunity: in this extract from a new book, Aquatecture,” 4 . 47 Ibid., 7. 48 Feuer, “Building for the Next Big Storm,” 4. 49 Murray and Mambro, "Working with Water is a lot Better than Working against It." https://www.architects. org/architectureboston/articles/high-tide-opportunity. 26. (Accessed November 25, 2016). 50 Ibid., 27
Water; a thing of beauty... | 39
This is why places such as New York City have already started addressing the changing climate following in the Dutch ways, but other coastal areas such as Bridgeport Harbor in Connecticut will need to take action before it is too late. Bridgeport has already seen the threat that water poses to the area’s coastal energy facilities and communities forcing the acknowledgment of this very real threat. Of the actions planned by coastal cities so far, the most common defense method is a flood barrier. We can learn from the methods of other cities in that such plans will likely take 25-35 years for a major civil project to be completed. So if we want to achieve our dreams of mimicking the Dutch preserving and even possibly enhancing the quality of our lives, we need to do it now....
While it is true that water is a thing of beauty, but also a
thing of destruction, however we can learn from its destruction like in New Orleans51 and New York City with the “Big U” in order to still enjoy its beauty instead of just walling it off. We need to continue to find and implement ways to co-exist with water where we are able to embrace it. Living with it while realizing its connection to infrastructure and the community like the Dutch have done so successfully in order to become coastal resilient,52 but the two questions will always remain until they are put to the test; (1) Have all these projects truly made the area safer? and (2) With these projects, will the city now be able to withstand the next big storm?”53
51 Sills, “Overview of New Orleans Levee Failures: Lessons Learned and Their Impact on National Levee Design and Assessment,” 556-565. 52 Barker and Coutts, “From flood threat to urban opportunity: in this extract from a new book, Aquatecture,”55. 53 Feuer, “Building for the Next Big Storm,” 4.
40 | Water; a thing of beauty...
**Important Note:
Since the creation of the Literature Review, my thesis has
evolved. It was originally going to look at resiliency methods that best worked in combination for Bridgeport, Connecticut mainly through section. The problem with this was that by the end of my Fall 2016 semester, I already had a working wetlands park proposal, which you will see later on in this book. There was also the question of if it is worth even protecting the area. This led the first semester to focus on flood protection while my second semester looked at how the area could develop if protected through the use of habitable flood protection methods. Together the ideas of habitable flood protection with a new methodology for city planning, Bridgeport, CT. an area scarred by undesirable infrastructure structures can become the city it was meant to be. At the core is the idea that only when threatened by Mother Nature taking back land that was landfilled, do we see it's vast potential to become a waterfront destination.
Literature Review Bibliography | 41
Analysis Prior projects and methods of design research (Precedents) examined that helped draw inspiration to build upon. The majority of the design research focuses around the failures in New Orleans especially during Hurricane Katrina as well as the Netherlands design solutions for dealing with water.
Figure 13
46 | Analysis - NOLA
1, 3 & 4
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Analysis - NOLA | 47
Figure 14: Hydro-electric Powerstation by Becker Architekten in KeselstraĂ&#x;e, 87435 Kempten, Germany. The station completed in November 2010 replaced a 50 year old station, creating a more artistic river-scape. Photo Location | Germany Photograph by Brigida GonzĂĄlez
The new Iller River hydroelectric station highlight the station through its form while showing how water can be more than just a threat. This project shows how water can work for us, supplying power for 4,000 households and 14 gWh of electricity annually while still maintaining flow of the river.
Figure 15: Magdeburg Water Bridge opened in 2003 . It connects the Elbe-Havel Canal to the Mittellandkanal, crossing over the Elbe River. Photo Location | Germany Photo Source | Amusingplanet
Mankind has always been able to find the solution through engineering. In order to avoid a 2-kilometre detour, the water bridge (A bridge like structure that carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railways or roads) connects two different elevations making mother nature appear inferior to man.
48 | Analysis - Germany
Figure 16: Maeslantkering (Maeslant Storm Surge Barrier) completed in 1997. The barrier was designed to protect Rotterdam and the surrounding area in preparation of the raising sea level. It truly is a magnificent piece of Dutch engineering in their battle against the sea. Photo Location | Netherlands Photo Source | Iahr2015.info
The Hoek van Holland waterway needed to remain open being a key access point for the port, but the problem of Rotterdam called for a barrier to protect against storms and high tide. The result was a 72' fully automated "gate" spanning 780’ that addressing both the needs and concerns.
Figure 17: Rijkswaterstaat's largest flood water storage in lake Volkerak completed in 2015 has the capacity to hold approximately 200 million cubic meter flood water from the rivers Rhine and Meuse in lake Volkerak. Photo Location | Netherlands Photo Source | Dutchwatersector
The project is comprised of 30 projects that work together mostly along river Rhine, Netherland's largest river to temporary hold water helping drop the water levels to a more manageable amount as needed. Helping to improve the spatial quality while, making the river more vital economically and environmentally.
Analysis - Netherlands | 49
50 | Analysis - Alewife Brook Reservation
OVERALL SITE AXON
VEGETATION
WATER MANAGEMENT
BIKE / JOGGING PATH
NATURE TRAILS
Alewife Brook Reservation (Wetlands Park) This project located right behind the Alewife station, is a 120-acre park project that addresses sewer overflow as well as flood control resurrecting "The Great Swamp."The project reduces 84% of sewer overflow while accommodating a 10-year storm event greatly benefiting the larger area. Going beyond function, the park has created a true ecosystem that has an elevated walk way through the reservation and a bike / jogging path that takes the users away from the city into a sense of tranquility. Analysis - Alewife Brook Reservation | 51
Figure 18: London’s Bankside Power Station stood disused from 1981 until 2000 was re-purposed as the Tate Modern. It since has been a contemporary public space without diminishing the building's historical presence Photo Location | Bankside, London Photograph by Christine Matthews
The Tate Modern known as an impressive cultural icon has become the most visited museum of modern art in the world since it was re-purposed. It is surrounded by open space acting as a destination. This project has revitalized its formerly industrial neighborhood along the waterfront.
52 | Analysis - Future of Power Plants
Figure 19: Computer rendering of the new power plant to be built underground with above ground public park and re-purposing of the existing power plant on the shore of the Han River. Photo Location | South Korea Photo Source | KOMIPO
South Korea is building the World's first underground thermal power plant taking the idea from Tate Modern to create a contemporary art museum within the decommissioned power plant. For only 10 percent more this new 400 megawatt power plant will power 100,000 households with a public park above.
Figure 20: Conceptual rendering to reinvent power plants as mixed-use mega structures. Photo Location | Unknown Photo Source | David Douglass-Jaimes
This conceptual proposal takes South Korea's Underground power plant even further attempting to add program around the stacks supporting mixed use development. Using Cypher CO2ling it is also able to eliminate the undesirable aspects associated with energy generation.
Analysis - Future of Power Plants | 53
Synthesis Study of existing site conditions, and all other pre-method studies that help to paint a picture of the area. Before establishing a methodology, one must first frame the problem(s).
Global Sea Levels are projected to rise: 1 - 2 FEET BY 2050 3 - 6 FEET BY 2100 *Highest observed area flood in B.P.H.: 5.7 feet in
56 | Synthesis - Facts
The B.P.H. Powerplant pumps out an average of: 2,044 tons of Sulfur Dioxide /Year 1,404 tons of Nitrogen Oxide /Year
Average state wage: $55,060 vs **Average income of the residents within one mile of the BPH Power Station is: $11,400
Synthesis - Facts | 57
58 | Synthesis
Site Images Bridgeport is an area that has been marked with an industrial image, but upon investigation, it is so much more. The two images on the right depict the image given off by the area, where it almost feels abandoned. The two images on the left show Seaside Park, which surprisingly is adjacent to the harbor and was designed by Olmsted. Having taken the ferry through this area numerous times, there is no indication that this beautiful park is just around the corner.... Synthesis | 59
Figure Ground With this diagram, looking at the density of the area, it shows that there isn't a lot of density along the coast. Of the buildings along the coast, most seem to be larger masses, possibly industrial or institutional. In this study you can get a sense of scale with just how large the power plant is (shown in teal). The next study goes on to discover the programs that make up the area that appears to be heavily industrial.
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Synthesis | 61
Zoning Diagram Bridgeport has no waterfront neighborhoods, they are all set back being blocked by institutions and industrial. In the harbor there are three waterfront developments that have the opportunity to change this. This investigation will look to bring the people from these new developments to the public spaces.
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Synthesis | 63
Walk-ability Diagram Bridgeport's coastal areas are not walkable and this statement is re-enforced by www.walkscore.com. This diagram uses the data that they provide showing the green areas as the most walkable and the red areas as the least walkable. The white areas of the diagram are not considered walkable, meaning it would be impossible and /or you need a car to get too.
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Synthesis | 65
10 M in u te alk W
Rad ius
10 Minute Walk Radius Diagram This diagram adds to the previous walkability diagram in that it shows the two main means of transportation and provides a walk radius from the ferry indicating 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes. The circles show how far you should be able to walk with no site factors, while the irregular shapes show the true distances. This study shows that this area has the infrastructure needed for a new vibrant city following the ideas of transit oriented design.
66 | Synthesis
Synthesis | 67
68 | Synthesis
Raising Sea Level By 2080, a large majority of Bridgeport's coast is anticipated to be under water unless something is done. The marker on the aerials represent a point of reference indicating the power plants current location. Notice how it is expected to be completely submerged in water along with a vast majority of the coast by 2080. This may not seem like an urgent matter, but even though 2080 may seem far away, just look at the photo of the power plant. The sea is already at a dangerous level. The area has already been witness to the dangers posed by the sea. Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012 causing flooding of Seaside park and even neighborhoods more inland. We can not procrastinate any longer, a plan of action is meaningless if it is not completed in time. Synthesis | 69
70 | Synthesis
Landfill Diagram 1870s: Bridgeport was driven by rapid urbanization and industrialization leading to expansion beyond its boundaries. 1920s: Bridgeport has grown from a town into the fifth largest city in New England increasing it’s population by almost 140,000 people. 2016 (Current Day): Development has led to the creation of new land that connected the South End to Fayerweather Island. Notice how Bridgeport has changed since 1870 until present day, the diagram above indicates which areas have been land filled and / or eroded. If you compare this diagram with the previous one, you can start to see a relationship between the two. A majority of the areas expected to flood by 2080 are areas that have been land filled. When will man learn that we can't just constantly expand without consequences? Synthesis | 71
72 | Synthesis
Four Coastal Methods Simple diagrams analyzing the effectiveness of four common methods of dealing with the threat of the raising sea level. All four look at addressing the same location depicted diagram on the left. These diagrams raise the question of if only one method is the answer and if there is only one correct answer? Restoring nature appears to be the best solution, creating a soft barrier, but even that method has problems. In order to integrate this method into an area, there needs to be plenty of available space. Now that our coastal areas have been built-up, space is a rare commodity. In addition to the issue of space, even if nature is restored, it will never be true nature. The best it can be is second nature and it will likely not be permit due to erosion, but perhaps if these soft structures are combined with hard structures, we will find the solution we are looking for. If so, the next task would be to select the areas in the greatest need and how to make it habitable.
Synthesis | 73
74 | Synthesis
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Study Sections In attempting to understand different approaches to dealing with water these simple freehand sections look at how the raising sea level would effect different conditions. In all of the studies the human experience was considered in how people would sit, interact and walk by the intervention. This study showed that there are many successful options, but none are better than natural defenses in a perfect world. With this said, we are not in a perfect world, there is constant problems with erosion and very little nature is truly "natural." Man has had his way with most of the land and we can never recreate true "nature." The best we can do is create second nature. It would seem that a man made solution working in unity with more natural solutions would be the best answer, but this study is flawed. These are just conceptual ideas and an actual flood defense method would be site specific. The method needs to not only reflect the site, but it also needs to relate to the surrounding context. For example, a berm may seem like a good idea, but depending on the height of the buildings behind it, this may not be so. If the buildings behind are low, the berm will be acting as a levee wall like in New Orleans separating the people from the water by blocking the beautiful views. This raises the question of what the best way is to create a wall without having a literal wall and one that will always benefit the area regardless of if the water level is high or low.
Synthesis | 75
76 | Synthesis
Sketch Overlay Study 1 This method of overlaying a sketch on ripped paper over a photo is a way to explore options for Seaside park by Olmsted and areas alike. The goal of this drawing and further works like this is to show whats there already and my proposal for the area creating a compare and contrast between the two while showing that I retaining the character of the area. This particular example looks at creating a wet lands park that could maintain the engagement with the water will creating methods for retaining storm surge in a manner that benefit the area regardless of it is high tide or low tide. This initial attempt would be revisited after exploring options for all five locations in order to relate them to one another. Synthesis | 77
78 | Synthesis
Sketch Overlay Study 2 This study uses a similar sketch method to high light important aspects of the site. The water at high tide is only inches from the existing power plant making this a high risk to flooding. The power plant is moving, but the existing plant may not be destroyed. By examining one possible option for renovating the plant into a tower that could serve as a beacon would change the entire image of the area alone. In the next sketch an example without the power plant is shown.
Synthesis | 79
80 | Synthesis
Sketch Overlay Study 3 + Layering Probe Attempting to explore an option without the power plant that contrasts the previous drawing, this version looks to remove the power plant. The power plant has become such a strong image for the harbor and city in general that can be seen from miles in all directions. Only the image being expressed is one of an uninviting industrial area. What if this all changed? If the power plant gets destroyed, the area could look like the drawing helping to connect the ferry terminal to the Sea Side Park previously blocked off by the power plant. With this drawing, the ideas are trying to make up for the harm that the coal burning plant has caused. This drawing hints at giving some land back to Mother nature that was once hers in the first place giving somewhere for the water to horizontally instead of vertically. Notice how the drawing indicates bi-swells, and walk ways trying to make this an active place for residents and travelers coming off of the Ferry right next door. *I took this study further with my probe model allowing my to insert or remove different layers that could make up the future Bridgeport.
Synthesis | 81
82 | Synthesis
Process Master Plan This sketch overlay shows what the future of the area could look, like. The area can not be protected with just one method, but instead should be made up of several. This master plan looks at a new possible location for the power plant on a newly created channel bringing the water safely into the neighborhood. Olmsted's Seaside Park maintains his original vision keeping the edge conditions and circulation, but looks to separate the automobile from the experience while creating a water feature as a natural defense. This plan shows the range of the investigation while acting as a base for investigations.
Synthesis | 83
84 | Synthesis
Sketch Overlay Study 4 Continuing my method of exploration through layering, I overlaid trace to sketch over a photo to test what the area could look like if it was re-imagined. The goal of this drawing is to really push the limits of what the harbor could look like if it became highly densified. This is more of a conceptual study showing the idea of constructing vertical density creating a new skyline. The idea behind this was that, you need to push a study just too far and than take it one step backward with the intent of creating something that is unexpected for the area.
Synthesis | 85
Method A process that creates and than uses criteria (Key parameters being used set up like instructions) in order to create form. The generated form is than evaluated according to the established criteria and re-iterated. This process is a constant cycle that the Spring 2017 semester focuses mainly on.
Reconciling the Waterfront Through it's Skyline Kyle A. Stroveglia 88 | Method
M
Arch 2017
Method | 89
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Fields of View Diagram In attempting to create a method for rapid form generation, this diagram analyses the three main approaches into Bridgeport depicting different points of view. Each field of view creates a 2D frame, but a skyline is much more complicated than that. In order to view the skyline and understand it's parallax effect the next three spreads look at the views from each of these points as you approach the Harbor.
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92 | Method
Fields of Views from I-95 North As stated on the previous spread, in order to view the skyline and understand it's parallax effect, this diagram shows the view from each of the points along with a key plan showing building locations. The point of this is to understand that the viewer sees a 2D image or frame, yet a skyline is 3 dimensional and constantly changing as you change your view point. By looking at the key plan and the views in tangent, you can start to understand just how the parallax is working. While looking for a building in the image, it may surprise you of it's location in plan. The next two spreads continue this study from different approaches into the harbor maintaining the focus on the power plant.
Method | 93
94 | Method
Fields of Views from I-95 South Continuing the previous study of the previous spread, this spread looks at the views coming from the other side of I-95, which is distinct from approaching via I-95 North. It is also color coordinated to go with the same key plan and help understand the location of buildings verse how they appear in the skyline. The next spread shows the third and final approach into the harbor being studied.
Method | 95
96 | Method
Fields of Views from the Ferry Continuing the previous study of the previous three spreads, this spread looks at the views coming from the Ferry. It is color coordinated to go with the same key plan and help understand the location of buildings verse how they appear in the skyline. The ferry is the main reason for people traveling through this area connecting Bridgeport with Long Island. The harbor acts as the main gateway "welcoming" travelers into Connecticut. This makes it the most important face of the city. During early colonization of new areas, the sea was the means of transportation resulting in the coastal edges being seen as the face of a city. There were often landmarks long these edges to help with navigation. How can we make the edges of areas such as Bridgeport great again from the water and any other view as you approach the harbor.
Method | 97
COMBO OF 95N PARALLAX VIEWS
Watercolor Skyline 1 Based on the previous three spreads, this image combines all the traced skylines from the 95 North Highway views. In combining five different field of views, this study looks to create a more realistic skyline representing the complex parallax that it is. It was than picked apart and categorized into desirable and undesirable moments, which you will see on the next spread.
COMBO OF 95S PARALLAX VIEWS
Watercolor Skyline 2 Continuing the goal of the previous image, this image combines all the traced skylines from the 95 South Highway views combining six different field of views.
98 | Method
COMBO OF FERRY PARALLAX VIEWS
Watercolor Skyline 3 Continuing the goal of the first image,, this image combines all the traced skylines from the Port Jefferson - Bridgeport Ferry Views.
COMBO OF ALL PARALLAX VIEWS
Watercolor Skyline 4 Continuing the goal of the first image, this image combines all the traced skylines from all of the views. In combining eighteen different field of views.
Method | 99
DESIRABLE MOMENTS:
HIERARCHY
LOCATION DIVERSITY
INTEGRATION W/ NATURE 100 | Method
UNDESIRABLE MOMENTS:
DENSE MASSES
RANDOM ARRANGEMENT
INCOMPLETE
INDUSTRIAL
DENSITY + HIERARCHY Method | 101
Process Vertical Profile Model After having established criteria for form generation, this model was produced early on to create a quick representation of the existing conditions. As you spin the model around you can see an abstract representation of what the city looks like from a certain angle. This model took advantage of a 3D printing pen allowing it's creation to be quick and easy. This model was a turning point for the iterative process that led to the model on the next page and models to come.
102 | Method
Process Massing Model Using the model on the previous page to represent the existing site along with the criteria, this model was generated using wood sticks. The heights were exaggerated to play with the overall massing more effectively. Besides not having a very accurate site, this model made too large of a leap from the previous model. Although this model jumped too far ahead, it was key for the next more accurate iteration of this process. **These two models became the inspiration for the entire methodology that through each iteration became more accurate and refined to the criteria
Method | 103
104 | Method
Vertical Profile Model Process (1 of 2) In attempting to refining the process vertical profile model from the previous spread, this spread shows how each frame became an abstract vertical profile from taking the field of view frames and tracing over them with a 3D Pen that uses a plastic filament. These were next added one by one as shown on the next spread to create a more accurate Vertical Profile Model. Method | 105
106 | Method
Vertical Profile Model Process (2 of 2) After creating all the profiles, each one was added one by one on an accurate site model following how they would be viewed by someone approaching the city. In doing so you can see how the city grows out of the views that have been established in a pinwheel shape. As was the point of the process version, this model is meant to be spun around to see any of the 18 views as they have been framed. The next step was to use the established criteria in order to create a desirable skyline from each of the vertical profiles.
Method | 107
Correcting the Skyline (1 of 2) Using the framed views from the three approaches, they were all aligned around a common landmark, which naturally was the power plant smoke stack. Next the frame of view was squared off to the boundaries of the model and the corrections of the skyline began one at a time. Each profile was thought of independently in attempt of make ever view the best it could be in ideal situations. Once corrected it was than reached using the 3D printing pen and added to the previous model as you will see on the next spread.
108 | Method
Method | 109
- I-95 South Framed Views -
- I-95 North Framed Views -
- Ferry Framed Views -
110 | Method
Vertical Profile Model w/ Corrections Process (2 of 2) After creating all the vertical profile model and establishing a new skyline, changes were represented in orange in front of the existing profiles to complete it following the same order as the previous process. This model when viewed in profile allowed for the creation on a 3D version that isn't so abstracted that understands the parallax effect.
Method | 111
112 | Method
Abstract City Massing Process This model was the second attempt of creating a 3D city mass that maintains the same views that have been studied and corrected. This model started with the power plant working it's way out from their addressing the connection to Downtown very early. The two main focal points established were the power plant and downtown and the hierarchy between them. The success and failures are analyzed on the next two spreads.
Method | 113
Existing Conditions: View 1 - View from Ferry
Corrected Conditions: View 1 - View from Ferry
Proposed Conditions: View 1 - View from Ferry
114 | Method
Existing Conditions: View 2 - View from 95N
Corrected Conditions: View 2 - View from 95N
Proposed Conditions: View 2 - View from 95N
Method | 115
Existing Conditions: View 3 - View from 95S
Corrected Conditions: View 3 - View from 95S
Proposed Conditions: View 3 - View from 95S
116 | Method
Existing Conditions: View 4 - View from 95S
Corrected Conditions: View 4 - View from 95S
Proposed Conditions: View 4 - View from 95S
Method | 117
Process Master Plan 2 This master plan focuses mainly on the grid and how the buildings fit within it. Most of the plan is grided, but that grid is broken by desired paths highlighted in red. It calls out a possible location for the power plant that was considered for a while. Due to the criteria of the thesis, the power plant made more sense to locate based mainly on views later on instead of through plan as this drawing attempted to do. This master plan is fairly successful and is actually similar to the final version, but this version only has one structure per block. The channel helps bring water in while guiding people to the wetlands park, but it seems to go too far in land creating to much separation between the proposed and the existing.
118 | Method
Method | 119
120 | Method
Evaluation for Moving Forward After reviewing the process prior to this point, the criteria was established and being followed, but there was a problem with it. It wasn't well defined and seemed to be subjective. In order to move forward, I looked at some of the great cities not normally compared to Bridgeport. The goal of this was to understand why I may have grouped the areas the way I did to than create measurable objective criteria that would guide the methodology for generating a new coastal city. **Once new criteria was established, I started the process over again being more refined, making a longer process by added steps to it. I also wanted to be more accurate, so this time I used the laser cutter with a scaled CAD file instead of the free hand 3D printing pen.
Method | 121
New York City, N.Y.
Marina Bay, Singapore
Dubai, Emirates or Arab
Boston, M.A. 122 | Method
? Correct Bridgeport, C.T. Skyline
Bridgeport, C.T.
Skyline Analysis A city’s skyline now more than ever represents the city’s image as a resut of T.V. shows, movies, news, and sporting events. This “Man-made Horizon” has become the “Fingerprint” of the area seeing that no two skylines are the same. The “Fingerprint” sets the location representing the whole of the areas identity. Just by merely viewing a skyline, being that no two are the same, most people can identify the location or at least infer what the conditions of that city are like. Although highly unique a city’s skyline is a very subjective entity based heavy on the aesthetic that requires criteria for analyzing them in an objective manner. In order to create criteria for fixing the skyline of Bridgeport, it is important to first understand current skyline’s success and failures of major cities as they compare to the existing Bridgeport, C.T skyline. From simply a quick glance you can identify the city’s main focal point(s) which have a uniqueness to them, mostly expressed through their sheer size. The skyline silhouettes selected to the left seem to celebrate their city’s focal point(s), being that these views are the city’s “Postcard” Image. They don’t look so well planned from other views. This is the problem with developers wanting to max out the site’s potential, begging the question of what if the skyline was designed as a pre-planned composition?
Method | 123
1) Main Focal Point(s)
2) Hierarchy of Height: Celebrating the main focal points
3) Scale: Considering the impact of high-rise buildings - To the human scale - And the Shadows being cast
4) Completeness of Skyline: Viewed ass a single unified composition
5) Inviting Image: From no matter where you view it from
6) Context: Integration with the Surroundings - Both Man-made and Natural
124 | Method
Criteria for Evaluating a Skyline
Power plant
Downtown
Option 1
Option 2
Human Scale
Shadows
Unified Composition
Main View Points
Field of View
Extending into the Water Method | 125
1) Grid Layout: Not only builds upon, but improves existing grid
2) Public Space: Grid has breaks in it to provide open space
3) Walk-ability: Grid is broken to provide desirable foot paths
4) Context: Integration with the Surroundings - Both Man-made and Natural
5) Protection: Proper measures taken to address the raising sea level
126 | Method
Criteria for Evaluating a Site Plan
Grid
Grid
Grid broken for Open Space
Grid w/ Open Space
Grid broken for Foot Paths
Existing Edge Condition
Proposed Edge Condition
Jetty Extension
Room for the Water
Wetlands Park Method | 127
95N
95S
Ferry
View Plains (or "Pinwheel") Diagram Having refined the criteria, this diagram takes every 2D face from each of the 18 views (95N,95S, and the Ferry) and locates them around a common point. The common point naturally is the power plant being that it is clearly visible in every view and is a major driving factor of this thesis. Above you can see the three groupings isolated that when combined create a sort of "Pinwheel" around the power plant. The main goal of this diagram was to help create the Vertical Profile model of the existing conditions that is on the following spread. Each frame of view was added one at a time so that the views form the existing conditions.
128 | Method
Method | 129
130 | Method
Method | 131
132 | Method
Vertical Profile Zoning Envelope Using the existing conditions model of views, this model looks at an overall massing envelope that would celebrate the power plant. This model was not very successful, but did led to the next model, which was very successful. The problem with this model is that it is misleading in that you are looking at buildings that aren't really on the site. The envelope ends up being very simple when generated using this model. Method | 133
134 | Method
Single Mass Model / Zoning Envelope This spread shows the desired composition 3 dimensionally based off the established criteria that celebrates the smoke stack and downtown as the two main focal points. This model follows the street grid showing the massing envelope. It is broken down street by street on the left page. Unlike some previous studies, the profiles have distinctions instead of more or less looking all the same, yet manages to combined into one uniformed composition. Each of the pieces are shown on the next spread as well, but they have been carved away creating the same mass with buildings. Method | 135
136 | Method
Carving Away at the Envelope Model Pieces This spread shows the transformation between the Single Mass Model and the next progressive model. Each one of these pieces do the minimum to still maintain the overall form will keeping in mind the location of each piece. Space was first given to streets and the rest followed the established criteria. For example, tall building were spaced apart from each other to not overwhelm the human scale through size or shadow.
Method | 137
Building Location Model Furthering the previous model that was than diagrammed, this model locates building massing that follow the overall envelope and the criteria. This is the most successful model to this point in time. The only problem with this is that the buildings are in the streets. Using this model, the next model would match the building locations and just need a decision of what side to place the mass on based on the what best follows the criteria and supports the high spine that has taken shape.
138 | Method
Most Current Massing Model At the end of this more refined methodology was the generation of this model. This model gives a good idea of what the new coastal city would look like and as of this point seems to be a good method for city planning speaking from a formal point of view. This version managed to maintain the successful areas of the previous massing model, while improving the other areas. The next step is to evaluate what has been generated to make sure it held true through each step.
Method | 139
140 | Method
Evaluate On the left page, you can see the progression of models to compare and contrast. The goal was with each progression evaluate and move forward following the established criteria to transform a mass into a realistic city. The red highlighted components are ones that don't follow overall mass as well as they could. Having gotten this far and generated a city that gets very close to the desired mass, the next step was to see how this process has effected the site plan and human experience within this "Master Plan." Method | 141
Design Outcomes After generating a city composition from a strict form generation methodology, it was time to zoom in to the city to truly understand what types spaces were being created. These spaces were analyzed through perspectives, sections, sectional perspectives and a Master Plan to produce the final views for the city as you approach it with it's new image.
144 | Design Outcomes
Interior Perspective 1 This spread is the first study of how it may feel to be within a city generated through it's skyline from numerous views. This view is one of the most important areas of the "Master Plan" that ties everything together. This area is overlooked by the re-purposed power plant uniting the people, buildings, infrastructure, landscape and water in harmony. This area serves as the main public space for the larger area while embracing the water allowing it to raise as it pleases creating a changing environment for the community to enjoy. This can be seen in the section below These area also is designed to naturally cleanse the toxins left behind by the pile of coal. There is a certain poetry to an area that can go from an unusable brown site to a sustainable ecosystem that protects and engages the community while still managing to remember what was there. The park is designed around the existing structures that were used to move the coal creating an interactive urban playground unique to the area at large. This will help to create the new character of the area helping to attract people making it a destination. While analyzing this area for success and failure based on the criteria, it is mostly a success for numerous reasons with the exception of three elements. For this perspective and the ones that follow, the buildings that need to be shortened are highlighted in red while any buildings that are extended are shown in a yellowish tan color.
Design Outcomes | 145
Interior Perspective 2 This spread continues the same study as the previous perspective, by looking at one of the other more important spaces of the "Master Plan." This wetlands / channel hybrid goes beyond reconciling the people, with the waterfront, but actually brings the waterfront to them. Besides the aesthetics, this feature helps allow for the possibility of water cooling systems, but more importantly, it allows room for the water to raise as you can see in the section below. Once the water gets high enough, the area widens slowing it down. This area is one that was envisioned to be a grand entrance to Olmstead's Sea Side Park by extending the open space into the neighborhood. While analyzing this area for success and failure based on the criteria, it is a success for numerous reasons, but not quite as successful as the previous. There is a nice well defined edge of what could be homes and store fronts along the channel, but the area feels dense and the powerplant feel a little lost due to the qualities of a perspective. As stated previously for this series of perspectives, the buildings that need to be shortened are highlighted in red while any buildings that are extended are shown in a yellowish tan color.
146 | Design Outcomes
Design Outcomes | 147
Interior Perspective 3 This spread continues looking at the channel, but this time sections through it while looking down the main axis towards the other open space. This means that both the Wetlands park and the channel are connected by a extended road. While analyzing this area for success and failure based on the criteria, it was one of the more successful. Besides being a sectional perspective basically just two buildings need to be switched.
148 | Design Outcomes
Design Outcomes | 149
Interior Perspective 4 This spread continues analyzing the spaces being formed, only this time it is more focused on the street instead of a larger open space. While analyzing this area for success and failure based on the criteria, it was successful with the possible exception of two masses that seemed to crowd an area of height.
150 | Design Outcomes
Interior Perspective 5 Continuing the street views, this perspective was also less successful. The street edge is well defined, yet it seems to have no clear overlying composition.
Design Outcomes | 151
152 | Design Outcomes
Interior Perspective 6 This spread continues analyzing the spaces being formed by looking at the harbor walk that has been created. With the decommissioning of the existing power plant, the waters edge could finally become a public space that helps to connect the surround area especially Olmsted's Seaside park to the ferry. With the ferry terminal being the main reason people come to Bridgeport, this view is essential to the success of this vision. If the port doesn't feel welcoming, travelers will continue to use the site as a mere travel through instead of finally becoming a destination. While analyzing this area for success and failure based on the criteria, it was very successful. There are two buildings that questionably should be shortened.
Design Outcomes | 153
154 | Design Outcomes
Proposed Master Plan While analyzing spaces being formed through perspectives to see what it is like within the generated city, it is just as important to analyze the city through plan view. The light gray buildings are illustrating the existing structures, while the darker gray illustrates proposed structures. One thing interesting about the way this city has been generated is that most blocks have a courtyard. The city it self could become a lot denser, but as it is, this proposal is a drastic change for the area as it is. Understanding that a city like this won't happen over night, the next spread looks to understand how a city like this could develop over time.
Design Outcome | 155
Existing Conditions
Phase 1
Phase 2
This shows the Represented above existing are conditions the existing before any before conditions steps are anytaken stepstowards towards the master proposed plan master have been plan. taken.
The first project steps starts would off be by creating to createaa new power plant while as they re-purposare planning while ing the re-purposing existing one. the With existing this new one. With money there investment, beingwould invested alsointo need thisto essential be protection infrastructural from the rising rsing component, sea. sea. This This the other would change part of thethis edge phase conditions it to protect and proposed it by repairing is a wetlands and adding park that to the edge with together condition the re-purposed to include apower habitable plant would flood create protection a uniquesystem publicin the form space that ofdefines a wetlands the area park.as it also protects it. This phase is very feasible and would create a domino effect for development around it making this area the heart of the new coastal city.
Due to the new crea lands park, re-purpo and new connection opment would form power plant is for th can finally walk alon where shops would Port Jefferson. In ad of the main roads n to be extended to t the new park, which early on as well crea this new city. With m from the sea, the je entrance would be the ocean current d
**Eachseries **This phaseattempts is brokentodown simplify intothe a realisticplan master change down to into in the realistic area realistic based phases phases off of the previous showing that this condition. bold proposal The point that of this is to would dramatically show although change thethe proposal area seems is moredrastic, feasibleit than can actually it seems. become Each reality makes phase if broken a minor downchange changes into phases that a that take place change builds upon thatover the builds Xprevious amount upon the creating of previous years. creating more of amore natural of aevolution natural evolution of the city of the cityoff based based how off thehow first the change first would change would create create a domino a domino effects effects for developfor development. ment.
156 | Design Outcomes
ation of the wetosed power plant ns, new develm. Now that the he public, travelers ng the water front d likely develop like ddition to this, one now has a clear path the water through h would develop ating the heart of more to protect etties to the harbor extended based off directions.
Phase 3
Phase 4
Development would continue around the new park and re-purposed power plant. Olmsteads Sea Side would also be renovated to be more pedestrian friendly and resilient with a dock for people to walk out into the water and use a water taxi, see a historical ship, or even dock their own boat like people do in Port Jefferson.
Running out of land the rest of the blocks develop along with a more drastic flood protection system to protect the cities investments / interests. A wetlands channel would be cut into the coast to accept the rising sea level providing room for the sea to rise, while helping to connect more areas with the water. This is also a flood prone area that would need to be re-imagined by this point. There also would be a new bridge connecting the development to Pleasure Island. The city claims that the abandoned island will be built up again as a new waterfront amusement park. This bridge will help it thrive while also having drop down flood gates if needed.
Design Outcomes | 157
Water Baseline
Water Level 1
Water Level 2
This shows the average water level that this project was designed for.
This shows the first increased level of water. The key moment is that there are to bioswales that slightly fill up with run off water, but don't fill up completely until the sea reach them making them the last line of defense.
This shows the seco of water. The key m water in the upper w reaches the bioswal room to rise.
**Each water level the previous was grayed out so you only see what actually changes with the water level. The point of this is to show how the proposed water management systems work throughout the master plan. Note that this is all what would happen without the use of the drop down flood gates under the bridge.
158 | Design Outcomes
ond increased level moment is that the wetlands park le and still has
Water Level 3
Water Level 4
This shows the third increased level of water. The key moment is that the elevated land across the harbor would be flooded if not addressed like this master plan where everything is still functioning as intended.
This shows the fourth increased level of water, which is basically the maxed that the master plan can handle with the use of the flood gate. The key moment to notice in this is how the majority of Olmstead's Sea Side Park may flood, but the water never makes it to the building. The bioswale captures the water stopping it before getting an further. This has allowed the master plan to maintain Olmsteads original circulation where you feel very connected with the water being only slightly elevated.
Design Outcomes | 159
160 | Design Outcomes
Proposed Ferry View Concluding this investigation of the proposed form generation methodology, here is the proposed view of the new coastal city from the ferry as it pulls into the harbor. Finally there is a welcoming image that draws people in.
Design Outcomes | 161
162 | Design Outcomes
Proposed I-95 South View Since this city was generated from numerous views, the conclusion of this investigation can't be seen through one main view. Thats why this thesis concludes with three main views. Each of the views selected are the most dominate of the three approaches into the city were you can see the largest amount of the city all at once. The previous spread represented the approach of the ferry and this one represents the approach from I-95 South. The next spread represents the third and final view of the proposed city. Design Outcomes | 163
164 | Design Outcomes
Proposed I-95 North View Representing the third and final of the proposed city, it seemed appropriate to show a night shot. A skyline is never more beautiful than when it is all lit and filled with activity all centered around a re-envisioned landmark. Design Outcomes | 165
- Front Side -
City as a Postcard
**This of course is only one example, because of the strict form generation methodology explored in this thesis, every view of the city should be able to become a postcard image.
166 | Design Outcomes
- Back Side -
Thinking about the image of a skyline, this is an example of what the front and back of a postcard for the new coastal city could look like using the night rendering from the previous spread. It manages to capture the new inviting image that the area has been searching for. From this image alone, you can tell that it is a well united an connected city that people would want to go to visit. Knowing it's well integration with water and it's unique wetlands park filled with industrial elements, wouldn't you want to go and visit...?
Design Outcomes | 167
168 | Quote Page
The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings. - Kakuzo Okakaura
Quote Page | 169
Fall 2016 Reflection
Over the course of the semester I took a series of interests based off a personal experience and narrowed them drown into a more focused thesis that draws from all my initial interests. I feel that my thesis statement has come a very long way, but know that it will still change. As I move into my next and final semester, I plan to keep using my graphic method of contrasting before and after with overlays as well as site analyses. I am currently interested in designing a wetlands park but feel i have already creating a good starting point, but now based on feedback, I need to find ways to increase waterfront density while respecting the site.
Future Work: • Finish my third sketch overlay • Remake the program diagram to be more useful • Overlay a historic image (Printed on recycled paper and ripped) of the area over a current image showing how it has already changed. • While traveling home or winter break, I plan on taking lots of photos of the area on my new camera to help my investigations giving me more much needed precedents
172 | Critical Evaluation - Fall 2016
Spring 2017 Reflection
Over the course of the semester I regret that it took me so long to figure out how to connect the idea of the designing through skylines with the threat of the sea. Based on my final review it was said that it should have more of a uniqueness to the area like the other skyline examples I studied. Thinking upon this, I am unsure if this is true, the goal of this thesis was to create a new inviting image for the area through an exploration of an unconventional approach. From that point of view, I feel as though I have successfully proven that this could be done and the uniqueness was less important atleast until proving that this could be done. With that said I feel I started to get at the uniqueness of the area in plan by extending the circulation that defines the area connecting the key nodes of Bridgeport harbor that have never been connected before all while shaping the city to celebrate the smoke stack that can be seen from the empire state building giving it a new function. It now has the possibility of becoming a destination especially from the water like Port Jefferson. Most of the character of the city will come from the architectural style of the massing I created and the spaces for additions that I have left. I also believe that through following this methodology on different sites would generate a totally different looking city and from that regard, I have created a uniqueness to an area who's image needed to be changed and through this re-imagining may find it self.
What I would do if I continued this thesis: • I think the next step would have been to calculate exactly how many people might live in this new city and program it to be a successful mixed-use community. • Create more diagrams of how my city functions: I placed a lot of thought into every move I made, but didn't have time to diagram my thinking behind things especially the secondary criteria such as flood protection, which I started to get at with my sketch sections and the water management diagram. • I also would have designed both the existing power plant and the new proposed power plant if I had more time . • For anyone that may consider continuing this body of work, I would suggest exploring how to do the same study, but include an architectural style for the massings maintaining diversity between them if that is even possible. My last rendering showing the city at night got the closest to achieving this.
Critical Evaluation - Spring 2017 | 173
Bibliography Barker, Robert, and Richard Coutts. “From flood threat to urban opportunity: in this extract from a new book, Aquatecture.” RIBA Journal 123, no. 3 (March 2016): 55. Feuer, Alan. “Building for the Next Big Storm.” New York Times, October 26, 2014., 1-6. Gornitz, Vivien, Stephen Couch, and Ellen K. Hartig. “Impacts of Sea Level Rise in the New York City Metropolitan Area.” Global and Planetary Change 32, no. 1 (June 1, 2001): 61-88. Hohensee, Alec. “How Does the Melting Ice Affect the Environment?” Regents Earth Science. Accessed November 25, 2016. http://www.regentsearthscience.com/index.php?option=com_con tent&view=article&catid=66&id=1074:how-does-the-melting-ice-affect-the-environment “Hurricane Sandy Fast Facts.” CNN. 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/hurricane-san dy-fast-facts/index.html. Accessed November 3, 2016. Maslin, Mark, “What is climate change?” Climate Change: A Short Introduction, 3rd Edition (Oxford, 2014; Online Edition, Oct. 2014), http://www.veryshortintroductions.com.ezproxywit.flo.org/ view/10.1093/actrade/9780198719045.001.0001/actrade-9780198719045-chapter-1 "Minghu Wetland Park." Landscape Architecture Works Landezine RSS. Accessed November 27, 2016. http:// www.landezine.com/index.php/2014/08/minghu-wetland-park-by-turenscape/. Murray, Hubert and Antonio Di. Mambro."Working with Water Is a lot Better than Working against It." The High Tide of Opportunity, 25-27. Vol. 13. 2010. Summer 2010. Accessed November 25, 2016. https://www.architects.org/architectureboston/articles/high-tide-opportunity. "NYC: The BIG U | Rebuild By Design." Rebuild by Design. Accessed November 27, 2016. http://www.rebuild bydesign.org/our-work/all-proposals/winning-projects/big-u. Sills, G. L., et al. “Overview of New Orleans Levee Failures: Lessons Learned and Their Impact on National Levee Design and Assessment.” Journal of Geotechnical & Geo-environmental Engineering 134, no. 5 (May 2008): 556-565.
176 | Bibliography
Figure
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List of Images Pg. 24 Photo Source: www.npr.org Location: The Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans Date: 2005 at around 4:30 am URL : gettyimages-97657258_wide-f00d13e5a774570c4d92838cfcd36320fc638e5d Photographer: Ellis Lucia Location: The Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans Date: 2005 URL: http-//proof.nationalgeographic.com/files/2014/08/140825-Katrina-b-and-a-Lower-9th-Ward-01 Pg. 27 Photographer: Wang Zhao Location: Beijing, China Date: 29 January, 2013 URL : gettyimages-97657258_wide-f00d13e5a774570c4d92838cfcd36320fc638e5d Photo Source: www.nasa.gov Location: Unknown Date: Unknown URL : https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/new-nasa-satellite-maps-show-human-fingerprint-on-global-air-quality
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Pg. 29 Photographer: Allison Joyce Location: New York City, NY Date: November 2012 URL : http://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-will-ruin-the-nyc-subway-2014-12
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Pg. 30 Photo Credit: www.coastalcare.org Location: North Carolina Date: Unknown URL : http://coastalcare.org/protect/campaigns/
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Pg. 31 Photo Credit: www.palmbeachnews.com Location: Palm Beach, Florida Date: 20 November, 2014 URL : http://opinionzone.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2014/11/20/should-palm-beach-county-raise-the-hotel-tour ist-tax-to-promote-more-tourism/ Pg. 35 Photographer: Sean Reis Location: Delacroix, New Orleans Date: September 21, 2016 at 5:30 pm Image Credit: www.citylab.com Location: New York City, NY Date: 2012 URL : http-//cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2012/10/30/arcadisjpg_copy/lead_large.jpg Pg. 37 Photo Credit: landezine.com Location: Liupanshui City Date: 2014 URL : http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2014/08/minghu-wetland-park-by-turenscape/ Pg. 38 Image Credit: www.rebuildbydesign.org Location: New York City, NY Date: 2014 URL : http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2014/08/minghu-wetland-park-by-turenscape/ Image Credit: www.rebuildbydesign.org Location: New York City, NY Date: 2014 URL : http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2014/08/minghu-wetland-park-by-turenscape/
List of Images | 177
Figure
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178 | List of Images
List of Images Continued Pg. 46 Photographer: Sean Reis Location: Delacroix, New Orleans Date: 21 September, 2016 at 5:30 pm Pg.48 Photographer: Brigida Gonzรกlez Location: Germany Date: 22 June, 2011 URL : https://www.yatzer.com/hydroelectric-power-station-by-becker-architects Photo Credit: Amusingplanet Location: Germany Date: 2014 URL : http://www.aussieodyssey.com/magdeburg-bridge.jpg Pg. 49 Photo Credit: Iahr2015.info Location: Netherlands Date: 2014 URL : http-//www.iahr2015.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Maeslant-Storm-Surge-Barrier-2 Photo Credit: Dutchwatersector Location: Netherlands Date: 2013 URL : http-//www.iahr2015.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Maeslant-Storm-Surge-Barrier-2 Pg. 52 Photographer: Christine Matthews Location: Bankside, London Date: 10 July, 2003 URL : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tate_Modern_viewed_from_Thames_Pleasure_Boat_-_geograph. org.uk_-_307445.jpg Pg. 53 Image Credit: Marcus Mitanis Location: South Korea Date: May 27, 2016 URL : http://skyrisecities.com/news/2016/05/seoul-power-plant-being-rebuilt-underground Image Credit: David Douglass-Jaimes Location: Unknown Date: Jan. 10, 2016 URL : http://www.archdaily.com/780109/this-conceptual-design-reinvents-power-plants-as-mixed-use-megastructures
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Pg. 58 Photo Credit: www.olmstedlegacytrail.com Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut Date: Unknown URL : http://olmstedlegacytrail.com/seaside-park/ Photographer: J. G. Coleman Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut Date: Unknown URL : http://www.jgcoleman.com/wp-content/gallery/seaside-park-fayerweather-island/seaside-park-and-fayerweather-island-004.jpg Pg. 59 Photo Credit: Unknown Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut Date: Unknown URL : Unknown Photo Credit: www.EastonCourier.com Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut Date: July 2015 URL : http://www.eastoncourier.com/25019/pleasure-beach-attracts-area-beach-goers/
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Pg. 77 Photo Credit: www.olmstedlegacytrail.com Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut Date: Unknown URL : http://olmstedlegacytrail.com/seaside-park/
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Pg. 79 Photographer: A.W. Taylor Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut Date: January 24, 2014 URL : http-//www.awtaylorphotography,com
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Pg. 80 Photographer: Morgan Kaolian Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut Date: 2013 URL : http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Senate-approves-fewer-emission-tests-for-4499665.php
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Pg. 85 Photo Credit: www.EastonCourier.com Location: Bridgeport, Connecticut Date: July 2015 URL : http://www.eastoncourier.com/25019/pleasure-beach-attracts-area-beach-goers/
List of Images | 179