Land sc ap e R e c o R d
joj Lan o_lr@ dsc 163 ape .co Rec m ord Vol. 1/2016.02
Lands cape R e c o R d
Wat e r - r e s i l i e n t C i t i e s
Waterresilient Cities
Vol. 1/2016.02
CONTENTS
L an dsc a pe R e
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Vol. 1 2016.02 ON THE cover: Raadhuisplein, Emmen by Latz + Partner LEFT: Perez Art Museum Miami by ArquitectonicaGEO, photo credit to Robin Hill THIS PAGE: Raadhuisplein, Emmen by Latz + Partner, photo credit to Theo Berends Photography
News
Insights
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90 Water Square Benthemplein 100 Velenje City Center Pedestrian Zone Promenada
First phase of Birmingham’s Paradise development given green light ROO F INDIA 2016 Singapore URA announces Rail Corridor RFP awards Philadelphia to host ULI’s 2016 Spring Meeting International Green City Conference 2016 BUILDEX Vancouver 2016 Tasting the Landscape
WORKS 8 Aalborg Waterfront Phase II 14 The Line Condominium Sales Gallery
Planning & Competition 110 Shenzhen North Station CBD Urban Green Valley
Design Exchange 116 The Construction of Sponge City in Time of Habitable City Development Scheme
Interview
118 Landscape Architecture to Benefit the Greater–Good - An Interview with Trygve Hansen, ASLA TRAVEL 120 For a Site Able to Age and Sustain Itself 20 Visiting Ken Domon Memorial Hall - An Interview with Emanouil Spassov, ASLA 122 Re–envision the Role of Landscape Architecture and Water FEATURES Management 22 USF Center for Science and Innovation and Harney Plaza Landscape - An Interview with Cannon Ivers, LDA Design 30 Raadhuisplein, Emmen 127 Water Sensitivity: To Deal with Stormwater in a Positive Way 38 Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) - An Interview with De Urbanisten 44 Yishun Nature Park 50 Thalie District 56 Apeldoorn Catherina–Amalia Park 62 Little Bay Cove 70 Parque Ribeiro do Matadouro 78 Mont Evrin Park 84 District Open Space, Sports Center and Library in Tseung Kwan O
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TRAVEL
Visiting Ken Domon Memorial Hall By Yoshiki Toda
Yoshiki Toda Representative director Visiting Professor, Faculty of Landscaping Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture Registered Landscape Architect 1st Class Landscape Construction Management Engineer 2nd Class Landscape Architect Yoshiki Toda was born in Onomichi, Hiroshima, and graduated from Faculty of Landscape, Tokyo University of Agriculture in 1970. After training as a gardener in Tokyo and Kyoto, he worked at Urban Design Consultant (headed by Kisho Kurokawa); then he established his own firm Yoshiki Toda Landscape Design Office in 1980, later renamed Yoshiki Toda Landscape and Architect Co., Ltd. He has been creating many finely detailed works with simple and dynamic forms, yet with warm and soft ambience. Major awards received include: Grand Prize of Landscape in Tokyo University of Agriculture in 1989, and Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture Award in 1995 with “Niji no Sato� in Shuzenji. Lecturer at the Faculty of Landscape (currently Faculty of Landscaping Science), Tokyo University of Agriculture since 1996; also at the Faculty of Green Environment, Chiba University from 1999 to 2003, and the Faculty of Design, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music since 2007. In Aichi EXPO 2005, he was nominated as Landscape Director and supervised the overall site creation. In recent years, he has been working on many projects in China and actively holding lecture meetings in Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing.
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Prologue I finally could visit Ken Domon Memorial Hall in early autumn. Ken Domon was born in 1909 at Sakata City, and deceased in 1990. He was the representative photographer of the Showa era. Yoshio Taniguchi, known with his strict aesthetic sense and projects such as Okazaki Mindscape Museum and Tokyo Sea Life Park in Kasai, was in charge of the architectural design. The memorial hall opened to the public in 1983. Big names such as Hiroshi Teshigahara (1927-2001) for landscape design and Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) for sculpture at the courtyard respectively were involved on behalf of Domon.
Environment Surrounding the Memorial Hall The memorial hall surrounded with serene greenery is located approximately four kilometers away from the south of Sakata city center. In contrast with the impression of the photograph showing strongly solemn architecture standing against severe nature, actual appearance of the architecture seen over a pond was much more balanced with the mountain range at the background. Somehow, it reminded me of somewhere I knew before. Indeed, it has similar atmosphere to Moutsuji Garden. Although the architecture is edger and horizontally flat, both architecture are similarly embraced with two gentle mountain ranges revealing magnificent leniency. In different period of time for completely different purpose, yet, the Japanese had chosen similar circumstances with Japanese common aesthetic sense.
Architectural Sequence and Courtyard As getting inside of the building, same stone material was applied to the surface of the floor and the wall at a long approach enclosed with walls. As stepping forward, expectation of next spatial composition was raised up by perception of embracement with the floor slightly sloped up.
At the end point, the famous courtyard can be seen. As facing straight and looking down the courtyard, the space is composed with big stepping waterfall and pond with the standing stone by Isamu Noguchi. In contrast with the monotone approach space, the courtyard is enhanced with various elements, including open-air space surrounded by water surface and walls, woods at the background, and suntanned cracked surface seen through the flow, which is interrupted with the vertically emphasized standing stone. Proportion of the architecture is almost perfect. Smooth texture of the wall and rough texture of the floor made the space dynamic. Nuance of the flow to outfall is too beautiful to look away. However, there is something wrong in the balance. Maybe the problem is at the point of water flow connecting the pond. Simply, circulating water flow is supposed to be distinguished from pond surface. However, since the wall to split is located too close to the falling point above the water surface, it appeared a bit cramped. Also, the fact that the last point of the falling water flowing into the pond is somehow set higher than other sections of the water flow broke the balance. Architects usually employ the method of setting minimum water surface under the waterfall in their exterior design. However, it would not match with stretched space like that courtyard. Bigger surface would be much better. Because interaction between the artificial and natural is the most sensitive matter in landscape design, more carefulness in detail should have been applied to details such as placement of the split wall, which is only concerned with the change of pond water level.
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Overview of courtyard, photo courtesy of Yoshiki Toda Landscape & Architect Co., Ltd.
Standing Stone in the Courtyard A sculpture by Isamu Noguchi juxtaposed with the standing stone also appeared lack of balance. It was too close to the adjacent corridor. Assumingly, it was positioned because of relations to windows or walls of the building. Exhibition hall at the back of the courtyard has a window at the left edge, which maybe is intended as a viewing frame for the viewer. Generally, the standing stone is supposed to be centralized if concerning with the balance between courtyard and a sculpture. I wonder what kind of discussion between the architect and the artist about determination of the position was taken place. Indeed, it is certain that design of the courtyard can be ranked in high quality. However, the space is a bit stressful without composition including vegetation like in the picture. Anyway, scenery composed with a sequence of framing with staircase at the front, upper open space, staircase with railing and the wall at the back is nothing but perfect. The design method of this repetition of framing continuingly employed for framed pictures inside the building leaves peculiar perception.
Hiroshi Teshigawara is not only known as the movie director of “The Woman in the Dune” but also famous as a master of flower arrangement. Therefore, he executed splendid balance between natural elements like stones or plants and artificial design. Spatial composition in this garden completely matched with Yoshio Taniguchi’s sensitivity.
Story of Three Stones It is necessary to point out existence of a round stone at the right and a black stone slightly shown at the back. The hidden stone is noticeable only at the time of passing through the frame bridge crossing the courtyard. From that viewpoint, both the standing stone by Isamu Noguchi and the black stone at the back of the second exhibition hall can be observed simultaneously. Those tow stones are paired up as presenting male and female stones. The stone by Isamu Noguchi is obviously a male stone; the name of the stone is “Mr. Domon” noted in the brochure. The stone designed by Hiroshi Teshigawara at the back is half-covered with
bamboos, and it is no way but clearly appeared as a female stone. Those two stones separated by the corridor are not simply a wit but also represent reincarnation and historical viewpoint. One more thing to be mentioned is the round stone at the center. This stone radiates calm feeling. I assumed that it was placed for peaceful relationship and life between man and woman. I wonder what kind of conversation architect Yoshio Taniguchi and his co-workers could have about those three stones to weave the story.
Epilogue After leaving the building I went around the pond once more. It was an ordinary pond typically seen in parks. Garden paths were placed along the edge of the pond, and it had neither horizontal variation nor sequential change. Also, since there was no significant plant arrangement, even landscape was just continued. Compared with sensitively wellcalculated spatial design of the memorial hall, density, intention, or relation to the design was so poor. The more I see to realize harmony between the memorial hall and mountain range at the back, the poorer the park design appeared.
Another Garden After enjoyable works of Ken Domon at the exhibition hall, there was a space for special exhibition. From there, dry landscape garden (Karesansui) made by Hiroshi Teshigawara was observable through the window frame. Although standard Karesansui garden usually employs gravels or sands at the flat surface such as Ryoanji, this garden particularly lets them sloping down from the back of the garden toward the building dynamically. This dynamic method can be seen in Shinnyo-ji garden made in Momoyama period, but it is a quite rare method. Flat round stones were spread at the ground sectioned with bamboo edges. Combination of coupled singular lines of curved bamboo has graphic intention, and it is clearly an unusual zoning way. View of the garden from the second exhibition hall, photo courtesy of Yoshiki Toda Landscape & Architect Co., Ltd.
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Landscape Architects: INTERSTICE Architects | Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
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Looking west from the student union toward the studio tower – the dome and towers of St. Ignatius rise beyond. In the evening the tiered class room (left) and study spaces beneath the plaza glow – while light levels on the lawn and stormwater and native plant garden remain low and focused on the paving and bridge.
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FEATURES
LANDSCAPE SITE PLAN 1. Campus walk 2. Terraces & stepped walkway 3. Science center main entry 4. Bridges 5. Stromwater treatment garden 6. Bio-pool 7. West plaza & skylight seating 8. East plaza, events space 9. Native meadow 10. Undulating lawn over lecture hall 11. Lower plaza 12. Permeable paving “RIVER” 13. UC dining terraces 14. Entries to buildings 15. Broad ramp 16. Ginkgo alle & native understory
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Plan: Showing development boundary at the heart of USF’s hillside campus. The newly designed “Campus Center” plaza covers and permeates the Science and Innovation complex, connecting six separate central campus buildings with its folded, multi-level landscape where two-thirds of the new building is situated below the entry level.
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DEVELOPMENT DIAGRAM
1. The multi-level Plaza connects study spaces to social places; overlapping, bending and folding back upon itself, as it interweaves the Science Center with the ever-active Student Union. An undulating lawn bridges the new Campus Walk to the Upper Plaza and a broad stone ramp connects upper and lower campus in a series of carefully calibrated outdoor “rooms.” 2. The integration of building and landscape enables strong visual connections between the upper and lower plaza, as well as places for students to gather. The pre-cast concrete “skylight seating” offers varied ergonomics for individuals and groups of students and faculty. 3. Between the skylight seating are stormwater infiltration areas filled with rushes, beach strawberry, irises, monkey flower and other waterloving yet seasonally drought tolerant flowering species. The skylights flood light into the biology classrooms below.
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transformative landscape approach completely re-configures the social hub of the 87-year-old University of San Francisco Campus. The Science Center project, sited at the very focus of student life adjacent to the existing Student Union and Harney Science Hall, demanded an innovative landscape typology that occupies “center stage” as it weaves through the primarily below-grade, multi-level building. The landscape functions seamlessly with the architecture to provide daylight to the classrooms, and durable and dynamic green- and hardscape spaces. The design sought to create high-performing, multi-level “outdoor-classrooms” that offer opportunities for instruction, while cleansing, infiltrating and collecting stormwater, supporting diverse native plant communities, and re-establishing the social heart of the campus for students, faculty, staff and visitors. The new landscape space now serves diverse campus programs, from daily activities such as perspective student tours and informal meetings of students and faculty, to more seasonal events such as career fairs, donor events, and commencement speeches. This high-performing landscape contributes by way of its proximity to significant ecological resources in San Francisco including the Bay and the migration path of the Pacific Flyway. The landscape is intimately woven throughout the building, emerging to support a complex palette of native plants and habitat for small animal species. It permeates the newly enhanced campus, thriving side-by-side with students and faculty. Working with a consulting landscape ecologist, a pre-project survey of existing bird and insect species was used to prioritize plant species selection for maximum habitat benefit in the final plant palette. California natives such as Mimulus, Pacific Coast Iris, Ribes, Rhamnus, Juncus, and Polystichum, to name a few, were selected for their seasonal wetdry regime and ability to foster an effective ecological community for birds, insects and small amphibians.
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Project Name:
INTERSTICE Team:
USF Center for Science and Innovation and
Zoee Astrachan, Principal Landscape Architect
Harney Plaza Landscape
Andrew Dunbar, Principal Architect
Completion Date:
Jon Ganey, Project Manager
2013
Shye Jones, Project Landscape Architect
Project Team:
Photographer:
NBBJ (architect)
Bruce Damonte, Marion Brenner, Sean Airhart,
BKF (civil engineer)
INTERSTICE Architects
Forell/Elsesser Engineers (structural) Timmons Design Engineers (MEP) Cahill Contractors (general contractor)
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FEATURES
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SECTION B 1. Lab 2. Deep planting/skylight seats in Lab classroom below 3. West plaza of study lounge 4. Lower plaza
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5. Permeable paving 6. Walkway access to interior 7. East plaza of breakout lounge 8. Fireplace and east UC center of lecture hall below
Illustration of the intimate relationships between architecture and landscape: Skylights allow daylight into the labs providing social space and seating at the plaza level. Connections to and from the plazas are made through overlooks, bridges, ramps, stairs and terraces. Transect of the Ginkgo-lined Campus Walk adjacent to the studio building where stepped terraces and undulating lawn bridge the landscape. 1
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SECTION C 1. Campus walk 2. Entry to Center for Science & Innovation 3. Studio classrooms stepped walkway to classrooms at lower plaza
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4. Undulating lawn over lecture hall 5. Lower plaza permeable paving 6. Stair up to east plaza
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1. The undulating lawn surface links the Campus Walk and the entry plaza of the Science Center tower to the Student Union, and is the primary location for socializing and lounging between classes – with its southern exposure and wind protection on the west from the new studio building. 2. Newly aligned Campus Walk lined with unit pavers, Gingko trees and grassy perennials establishes a ceremonial procession towards the focal point of St. Ignatius dome and its dignified campanile beyond. Students meet and relax on the sunny terraces tucked below the studio tower. 3. The lawn undulates over up-turned structural beams of the tiered classroom below. Circulation at its edges connects the Campus Walk to the upper plaza and Harney Hall to the north. The lawn is seeded with perennials that will provide additional food source for birds and insects. Guardrails are open to the lower level plaza and terraces. 4. View from the lower tiered classroom/lecture hall toward the protected study terraces of this informal amphitheater up to the studio main entry and the Campus Walk – showing the “pixelated” stone paving pattern that continues up the terraces. The Undulating Lawn bridges overhead.
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FEATURES
LEARNING CSI HIGH PERFORMING LANDSCAPE
Honeybee
LEARNING LANDSCAPE
Students
Pacific Dogwood Cornus nuttallii
Wilson’s Warbler
DIRECT INTERACTION
Cedar Waxwing
Field work
Docent tours
Gillette Checkerspot
To W Twinberry Lonicera involuncrata
PEDAGOGICAL WEB Outdoor classroom STEWARDSHIP
Blue Rush Juncus patens
Independent study
ECOLOGIC AL SYSTEMS (Examples: pond, meadow)
EXTENDED LEARNING Community outreach/education
Dark-Eyed Junco American Robin WEST HARNEY PLANTING •Coastal scrub plants •Primarily smaller trees, understory shrubs and groundcovers •Seasonally wet environment •Potential for wetland ecology – biofiltration swale and small pond •Cover and nesting vegetation
Lecture
CSI ACADEMIC BUILDING
Laboratory class
Pedagogical Web & Sections: Ecological interconnectivity of Campus resources and pedagogical goals. A bio-pool and native plants refuge over bio-laboratory spaces establishes a habitat area that collects, redistributes and treats stormwater.
SECTION A 1. Roof / rainwater distribution 2. Planting soil 3. Gravel drainage layer 4. Pump & filter 5. Riparian planting / habitat 6. Bio-pool, 46cm depth 1
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8. Skylight beyond 9. West plaza paving 10. Permeable paving 10
1. Interior lighting is shared by and enlivens the lower plaza while the subtle glow of integral fixtures at the bridges and feature lighting at the planting areas permeates the landscape spaces – allowing one to see between linked interiors through exterior social spaces along the undulating edge. 2. Skylights beyond and the bio-pool with water plants and other native water-loving flowering perennials: an integral element within the garden, which receives stormwater from the roof of the studio tower, and supports a bio-diversity of insects, birds, and small amphibians, instructive for biology study. 3. “Islands” of planting afloat in a “river” of pixelated permeable paving infiltrate stormwater, collecting it in a cistern for facilities cooling reuse. Japanese maples with green and red foliage will mature to “peek” above the upper plaza railing. Salvaged granite seating slabs with donor plaques edge the planting beds.
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INTERCONNECTIVITY CAMPUS WALK • Arboreal, understory and ground cover plants • Flowering and fruiting understory • Nesting cover • Caterpillar food and nectar source
Light Swallowtail Townsend’s Warbler
Feltleaf Ceanothus Ceanothus arboreus
Anna’s Hummingbird
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Scarlet Monkey Flower Mimulus cardinalis
Bushtit
Cpupte Brush Baccharis pilularis
Honeybee
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FEATURES
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Landscape Architects: ArquitectonicaGEO Location: Miami, Florida, USA
PĂŠrez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
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here the PAMM building itself has been designed to express the raw material of concrete in its many forms, native plants have been chosen to display the raw materials of the landscape as complement and contrast to the geometric architecture of the building. Native trees, shrubs, groundcovers and vines spring from the ground plane in a vibrant counterpoint to more formal, hanging vertical green elements. In addition to the lush pan-tropical vegetation of South Florida, landscape materiality is deconstructed to exhibit the Earth’s most basic forms, including gravel in paths, the parking garage, and in the urban concrete environment. The landscape also serves as a sculpture garden and canvas for permanent and rotating art displays, such as the Jedd Novatt sculpture entitled Chaos Bizkaia. Portions of the richly detailed sculpture garden provide a notion of discovering works within the landscape, and other areas will provide opportunities for traditional open space installations. A naturalistic planting style dominates throughout the ground level and Level 1 planters, progressing from South Florida natives mimicking endemic habitats outside the building, to a mix of plant types adjacent to the building, and finally a more constructed pan-tropical and exotic palette within the garage and Level 1 planters. The landscape sequence begins on Museum Drive along the new Science Museum and Art Museums, continues in the underground parking garage with a surprising display of plant material in an unexpected location, and continues above ground with the spectacle of the hanging vegetation, and the discoveries within the sculpture garden.
1. View from the museum level deck and plantings, towards Biscayne Bay and Bicentennial Park. The hanging gardens and deck level plantings are composed of more colorful and exotic plants, while plantings trend toward natural arrangements of native plants extending outward. 2. This view shows the unique arrangement of parking below the museum. Elevating the museum protects art from storm surge, and allows for the combined services of parking and detention/infiltration facilities. The berms hide the cistern elements of the irrigation system.
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Because of its direct proximity to Biscayne Bay, the Art Museum was required to be elevated above the regulated flood and storm surge requirements, which allowed the parking garage to be placed below the museum. This arrangement facilitated an unprecedented design that integrates parking and planting beds with irrigation system water storage, stormwater
infiltration, temporary storm surge storage and aquifer recharge. The innovative porous-floored parking garage, along with rain gardens, has been designed to capture rain water and funnel it into the ground water system, thus reducing local flooding and stormwater runoff into Biscayne Bay. This last innovation saved significant project funds from being spent on injection wells.
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The original project concept of formal hanging gardens was expanded to include the use of water wise, animal-friendly native plant material, in conjunction with systems to capture rain water and A/C condensation for irrigation use, which is designed to reduce the draw on South Florida’s precious freshwater supply. Ten large, original trees were transplanted and cared for on-site
The PAMM sits closest to Biscayne Bay, within Museum Park. The Science Museum to the west shares stormwater management and circulation facilities, including the planted infiltration basin in the roundabout, and the pervious concrete plaza and bus drop-off.
SITE PLAN
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1. Wind- and salt-resistant coconut palms form the first line of vegetation along the Bay. The recreated hammock includes lowland rain garden plants tolerant of saltwater inundation, ranging to upland hardwood hammock plants farther from the Bay. 2. The view from within the newly planted hardwood hammock includes several large trees that were preserved and relocated from elsewhere. The garden serves as a sculpture setting, with lighting designed to highlight the building, vegetation and sculptures as art pieces. 3. Rain garden area in dry condition 4. Rain garden area in wet condition
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Project Name:
Irrigation Consultant:
Architect of Record:
PĂŠrez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
Sweeney + Associates
Handel Architects
Completion Date:
Landscape Contractor:
General Contractor:
2013
ValleyCrest
Moriarty of Florida
Vertical Garden Designer:
Design Architect:
Photographer:
Patrick Blanc
Herzog & de Meuron
Robin Hill, Julio Espana / ArquitectonicaGEO
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SECTION 1. Aluminum down pipe 2. Rain chain holder 3. Rain chain 4. Area where water lands consists of #57 aggregate 5. Clean washed, sharp hard angular fine gravel (0.48-0.64cm) for auto areas 6. 15cm depression 7. 15cm berm at top of slope 8. Intermediate reinforcement wrapped at face 9. Hyrdo-seeding application 10. Intermediate reinforcement geogrid 11. Primary reinforcement geogrid
SOUTH RETAINING WALL SECTION
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FEATURES
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during construction, and have been placed in their new locations. These large West Indian Mahogany, Black Olive and flowering Tabebuia trees serve as focal points and anchors for all other plant material. New plant material has been chosen to be able to survive the harsh climate of South Florida, which can alternately provide saltwater, heavy wind, drought and excessive rain.
Landscape Architects (FLASLA) Award of Excellence, 2014. Bestowed in recognition of projects that demonstrate an inspired use of landscape architectural practices in an imaginative combination that adds to the body of the Landscape Architecture profession, and are truly exceptional, unique, innovative and goes beyond achieving its defined purpose.
The horizontal landscape has been designed to tread lightly on the environment by providing a multitude of environmental services, and at the same time it limits overuse of precious resources. While many of the technical and sustainable innovations are invisible to the public, it is also designed to provide a beautiful and serene location along the waterfront to explore art, both natural and manmade. In the future, gravel paths and smaller plantings may be moved to accommodate some art while other works will be site specific. A notion of discovering works within the landscape will dominate the sculpture garden.
- Frederic B. Stresau Award. Bestowed upon an Award of Excellence winner that best exhibits absolute innovation and design excellence of the profession in 2014.
Awards: - Florida Chapter of the American Society of
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1. The resulting landscape is a dynamic, multilevel profusion of color, art and green infrastructure. 2. Classic South Florida dune plantings of railroad vine and grasses provide an attractive contrast to the hard edges of the building, and offer yet another native habitat to support local wildlife, illustrating the valuable ecosystems to the public. 3. Lush plantings occupy three levels: ground/parking level, museum entrance deck, and the hanging gardens. 4. View toward the museum at entry level deck with lush, shade-tolerant material located below the generous shade slats. Hanging gardens are watered with recycled A/C condensate and captured rainwater. Plants were chosen for their high tolerance to salt air.
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FEATURES
Landscape Architects: McGregor Coxall | Location: Little Bay, Australia
Little Bay Cove
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joj Lan o_lr@ dsc 163 ape .co Rec m ord Water-Resilient CitIES Overview of the pond
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cGregor Coxall prepared the public domain master plan and construction documentation for this 459 dwelling urban infill residential neighborhood on a 17-hectare asbestos contaminated site on Anzac Parade, Little Bay. The project has a wide diversity of housing types carefully situated on a regular street grid that respects the coastal topography and geological environment. The layout integrates a water-sensitive urban design framework into the street typologies, two public parks and central ecological corridor.
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FEATURES
LOCAL TIME LINE
1788
British settlement of small fishing village
1899
Private land grants
1909
State reformatory system for women and state penitentiary for male prisoners
1901
Tramline extended to Malabar reformatory and the coast hospital
1916
Sewage works constructed
CHANGES IN SETTLEMENT PATTERN
Swamp Seasonal camps
Village of Brand
Tramline established
Sewage outfall
Women’s reformatory Male penitentiary
Swamp
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1898
1901
CONSERVATION ZONES
Site boundary ESBS (CT 2007)
Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub (ESBS)
SITE ANALYSIS
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The site falls to the central valley constructed wetland where Brand Park is located, the key open space for the neighborhood. The parks contain a pedestrian network of scenic lookouts, concrete pathways, suspended steel access stairs, weir bridges and elevated boardwalks. The key organizing element in Brand Park is a 100-meterlong snaking elevated walkway constructed from recycled timber and steel providing access from the park terrace to the lower eastern streets. Other facilities include massive sandstone block walls, seating and a BBQ area.
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1920
Suburban typology subdivision
1925
Wreck of the MV Malabar
1969
Christo and Jeanne-Claude Wrapped Coast, One Million Square Feet, Little Bay
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1990
Upgrade of the Long Bay penitentiary for male prisoners
Deep ocean outfall constructed
Tramline reinstated
Expansion Long Bay penitentiary Deep ocean outfall
Public housing development
1970
1990
FUTURE?
Site boundary Existing dam White ochre Buffer (7-10m) Sandstone outcrops Exposed Miocene shale Red/white ochre Revised aboriginal site boundary
Miocene & Ochre Deposit
Project Name: Little Bay Cove Completion Date: 2014 Architect/Artist: Hill Thalis Architects & Candelapas Associates Architects Client: Charter Hall Group Site Area: 13.6ha Photographer: Simon Wood Photography
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FEATURES
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SITE PLAN
1. Little Bay Cove overview 2-3. Elevated walkway
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Suburbs Banksia Scrub defines the eastern site boundary and a row of Casuarina defines the northern boundary. This master plan proposed to demolish all existing buildings, remediate the land and completely reshape the site landform.
Existing Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub, surface deposits of rare Miocene geology and Ochre earths of high significance to local Aboriginals have been protected in the central corridor. Pedestrian connections to the Prince Henry site to the south, Little Bay Beach and the NSW Coastal Walkway, integrate the development into the regional walking network.
Design Inputs The design rationale for the public domain and public open space was informed by the following inputs: - Rigorous site analysis; - Feedback from the Design Review Panel; - Water-Sensitive Urban Design best practice; - Environmentally Sustainable Development best practice; - Australian standards and codes. Design Philosophy The design philosophy for the landscape architecture of the project employs watersensitive design strategies combined with local endemic plant material to develop an ecologically responsible design for the site. The experience of the landscape has been carefully
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A second smaller park called the Urban Lounge is located on the western side of the project, designed as a contemporary relaxation space with a wide lawn, native shade trees, rolling dune-like gardens, rain gardens and a children’s playground. Environmental innovations include a comprehensive site-wide water management system connected to the central wetland. All streets are designed as “biostreets” that filter road water at the point source via street level turfed nature strips. The “biostreets” re-engineer the traditional kerb and gutter system into new green infrastructure. Street trees are located at road level so that they receive passive irrigation
from the street runoff. Engineering water control infrastructure is disguised under the pedestrian bridges and stormwater pipes fully integrated within concrete wall elements. Solar lights illuminate the park at night. The western section of the site contained former UNSW lands and associated facilities contaminated with asbestos. The mid section of the site was previously dominated by two dams (created during sand mining activities), ancient Miocene formations, and aboriginal ochre deposits. The eastern section of the site was a large filled area that included the former UNSW Biological Resources Center (a threestory building). A remnant patch of the Eastern
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FEATURES
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considered to support a diversity of spaces that provide a range of amenity. The design approach is influenced and informed by the discipline of “urban ecology,” where the site design components are integral to the project’s social, environmental and ecological systems. The key elements in the public domain design are formed by a specific street typology and the provision of two public parklands: Brand Park in the Central Corridor and the Urban Lounge. Site Planning and Organization The design brief was used as the basis for design development and the following principles emerged that underpinned the organization of the public domain and public open space: 1. Provision of a unique street typology that links into the surrounding landscape and utilizes water-sensitive urban design initiatives. A hierarchy of streets with specific functionality and character are planned. These are: - Avenues; - Green Streets; - Raingarden Streets; - Reserve Streets; - Urban Lounge Access Ways; - Lanes; and - Pedestrian Links. 2. Provision of public parklands for recreation and stormwater initiatives: - The Urban Lounge; and - Palaeo Valley with Brand Park. 3. Integrate the new master planned community into the existing area with the provision of pedestrian and cycle connections.
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The public domain will be a catalyst to a healthy and vibrant community where daily life is played out in its public spaces and infrastructure.
1. Stone wall and terrace 2. Elevated walkway 3. Little Bay Cove overview 4. Walkway
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PLANNING & COMPETITION
Shenzhen North Station CBD Urban Green Valley
On April 4th 2015, in the Shenzhen North Station CBD Urban Green Valley Landscape Competition bid evaluation conference held at Guanlan Grand Skylight Hotel, Shenzhen, the proposal by Atelier Dreiseitl, in collaboration with Lay-Out Planning Consultants Ltd. based in Shenzhen, was unanimously acknowledged by 7 experts from Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and Shenzhen as the winning project among 8 competitors. Shenzhen North Station CBD is one of the 13 key development areas identified by the Municipality of Shenzhen. With great natural landscapes, it is perceived as an important engine to promote regional sustainable development, a central place for urban public life that should be integrated into the urban fabrics. The project is to be developed as an opportunity to create quality urban spaces in the North Station district. The project’s concept is “EOD+TOD,” treating the green valley as a green public space. A revolutionary green corridor is created under the structure of “Eco Green Valley.” The 9km dynamic bond is the core of the whole landscape structure. The whole structure is organized from three aspects of nature, human and city. 1. Nature. Natural countryside landscape is to be established based on a green sustainable eco-network. Renewable energy resources and gardening waste would be recycled, and a low-carbon pathway network is to be created, contributing to the transition from an unbalanced, fragmented habitat into a waterresilient city (“sponge city”).
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Landscape Architects: Atelier Dreiseitl & Lay-Out Planning Consultants Ltd.
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Location: Shenzhen, China
Award Time: 2015
Size: 11.9km2
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PLANNING & COMPETITION
THE ECO-SPONGE CITY Infrastructure in Traditional City
Surface runoff
Infrastructure in Sponge City
Drainage
Surface runoff
Treatment
Collection/storage The sea
CONCEPT PLAN
Sponge City Water Management Strategy In traditional urban water management systems, runoff and untreated waste water is drained into rivers directly, and then discharged into the sea. Hence problems such as water pollution, ecological degradation, waterlogging and waste of fresh water resources emerged. The proposal adopts a sponge city strategy tailored for water management in the Longhua New District. The traditional risk management is transformed into a decentralized water management system, regulating distribution, purification, and storage of stormwater in the city. In this way stormwater is slowly discharged downstream and finally returned into the urban environment and eco-network.
SPONGE CITY CONCEPT
City Area
Green Valley
Downstream Objectives Relieve runoff pollution Reduce peak rainwater Supply groundwater and surface water Rainwater reuse Establish a water cycle system in the Green Valley
Runoff from Green Roof Ganjiang River
Bio-retention Swale
Cleansing Wetland
Bio-retention Gravel
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2. Human. The project aims at establishing a human-oriented environment with multisensual and multi-color experience. Fluid landscape experience goes through different heights in a dynamic circulation, facilitating the transition from a dull public place into a vigorous paradise full of public life.
LEGEND
3. City. The 9km dynamic ecological green bond is an innovative gesture that connects 6 ceremonial places and 9 feature landscapes, realizing the transition from the previous bland impression into a strong identity as an attractive and charming urban place. Moreover, it creates an opportunity for integrated and holistic development of the city of Shenzhen.
Drainage along the green street Green Valley sponge system Urban drainage Downstream ecological channel Water & nature purification
SPONGE CITY PLAN
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SUSTAINABILITY DIAGRAM
1.3Ă—1010MJ/year Solar Energy
47,800 tons/year Recyclable Garden Wastes
Garden wastes include fragments of branches and leaves produced in the process of plants maintenance. In Shenzhen, pruning is necessary before typhoon comes, and in winter fallen leaves make up lots of wastes. These wastes can be collected in the recycling plant and reused as organic soil in the Green Valley.
Green Valley green area: 239 hectares Garden Wastes: 47,800 tons/year
The North Station district receives rich solar energy. In Shenzhen where land resources are extremely limited, largescale application of solar panels is not feasible. The Green Valley provides an opportunity to take advantage of the solar energy in a decentralized way. With the combination of photovoltaic materials and landscape infrastructure, a new type of interactive Green Valley landscape is to be created.
Sustainability Energy Resources With the progress of urbanization, conventional consumption of energy resources and garbage disposal in the Green Valley and peri-urban areas will increase power consumption, municipal fund investment, the load of waste landfills, and even cause pollution. Green Valley Solution As an important locality for urban low-carbon development, the Green Valley tries to use renewable energy and organic cycling of garden wastes to reduce its dependence on resource and environment. If the garden wastes can be treated on site and transformed into usable resources, a sustainable recycling system is established, which can be applied to other places in the future.
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Organic soil recycling exhibition center
Organic garden soil
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LEGEND
Sustainable Use Sustainability is conceived as an important part in the design, construction and operation of the landscape and infrastructure in the new district. The Green Valley is to be a low-carbon construction project, which will be built into a sustainable park well connected with infrastructure in the surrounding neighborhood. With the solar landscape, recycling of garden wastes, and the bicycle line system, the sustainable goals are to be achieved: reducing dependence on natural resources; decreasing greenhouse gas emission; producing less wastes; and low-carbon transportation. The Green Valley will be a positive park which helps relieve urban demand for gray infrastructure and guarantee a sustainable development of the city.
Garden wastes collection Photovoltaic infrastructure
Organic soil recycling exhibition center Organic soil reuse
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INTERVIEW
joj Lan o_lr@ dsc 163 ape .co m R e For a Site Able to Age and Sustain cor d Itself - An Interview with Emanouil Spassov, ASLA
LR: When did you realize you wanted to be a landscape architect? And how has the experience been?
Emanouil Spassov ASLA, LEED APBD+C
Emanouil is a Senior Landscape Architect at HGA, an integrated architecture, engineering and planning firm, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With more than 20 years of experience leading site design for a wide variety of award-wining landscapes for healthcare institutions, arts organizations and corporations, Emanouil sees landscape architecture as an opportunity to have a positive impact. Each of his designs has reflected the client’s needs and has responded to the potential opportunities. He combines elements of harmony, scale, light and meaning in his work, always striving to integrate the client’s functional and cultural needs into a design that artfully reflects an institution’s vision. His diverse background, including studying and working in Bulgaria and Japan prior to joining HGA, adds a significant dimension to his ability to peruse creative and sustainable design solutions that enhance the site’s character.
Emanouil Spassov (ES): I have always enjoyed spending time exploring nature and its beauty ever since my childhood. I grew up in Sandanski, a city with one of the nicest and richest parks in Bulgaria, located around an old endemic forest of Platanus orientalis , at the base of the gorgeous Pirin Mountains. Every summer, I loved to go to my parents cottage there, situated along a beautiful river, lush pine forest, and abundant waterfalls. This setting in which I grew up shaped my understanding and appreciation of nature. In addition, art has been a tremendous part of my life, and I have always enjoyed drawing and painting. During my last year of high school, I considered Landscape Architecture and Architecture as two options for a career, and quickly realized that Landscape Architecture would be what I would enjoy pursing. As with any other career, there are obstacles and hardships, but at the end of the day, being a landscape architect is a great and rewarding experience. The fact that we are able to create beautiful environments that shape people’s perception about the importance of nature is extremely fulfilling.
LR: Sponge City, which means the city can breathe like a sponge, is a new concept of stormwater management in China. Could you talk about your understanding? What is the role that a landscape architect must play? ES: As I understand it, the concept of a Sponge City embodies a self-sustainable site design that allows the city to function in a hydrological manner, similar to nature. This requires careful and responsible site design, integrating ways to improve water and energy conservation. Landscape architects are one of the few professionals in a multidisciplinary team that are able to look at every site in a very comprehensive way, carefully considering the developmental
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impact as a whole. Our role in a design team is critical for promoting responsible stormwater management design practices that also help to restore wildlife habitat, and promote biodiversity/ genetic diversity and educate the community.
LR: Are there some principles or strategies in the design of landscape architecture with regard to stormwater management in your country? ES: Stormwater management and water conservation awareness in the USA is an extremely important topic. Most governing jurisdictions require the integration of a number of stormwater techniques and strategies in every site design. Furthermore, there is a widening recognition of the importance of communitylevel water conservation programs to help reduce demand on the nation’s water resources and wastewater infrastructure. As dedicated practitioners of sustainable design, our role as landscape architects is to consider the natural systems of a site.
LR: How did you integrate stormwater management design into VirtuaVoorhees Hospital? ES: Constructed on a 125-acre (51-hectare) campus, Virtua’s goal was to create a healing environment that was therapeutic and reduced stress for patients, visitors and staff. The moment one enters the site, passing along the naturally wooded wetlands, an immediate feeling of release takes place. These wetlands covering close to 40% of the site became the inspiration for the site and building organization. A series of landscaped greenways, acting as extensions of the wetlands, were created to span the site and interact with the architecture. In turn, this made the hospital open and outward focused, always connecting with the nature around it. To expand the existing wetlands, HGA’s team worked with the engineering team and the local New Jersey environmental agencies to locate several interconnected stormwater retention and detention areas, as well as series of rain gardens
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that manage all runoff for the building and parking areas. These areas provided opportunities for expanding the additional animal habitat and enhancing a scenic visual amenity for the hospital’s patients. Several courtyards and rooftop gardens not only provide daylight and a place for respite, but also create an opportunity to absorb rainwater and minimize water discharge into the sewer system. In fact, excess rainwater collected on site is used to recharge the constructed wetlands and promote aquifer recharge.
LR: What is the most innovative or creative aspect of your projects? ES: The idea of a work of art being innovative or creative is often a subjective concept, and it is no different in our field. A newly designed and completed landscape that may nowadays be considered creative or progressive, could be outdated and difficult to maintain and sustain years later. Unlike other man-made environments, created landscape is subject to the ever-changing forces of nature. Therefore, what is innovative or creative may not only be dependent on how a user or a creator perceives it and gives meaning to it, but also on how well it is able to age and sustain itself. My design approach with a new landscape is to try to create memorable places that provoke and challenge one’s perception, as well as to provide that newly built environment with a sound and sensitive site design that allows it to age well and not only coalesce with its surroundings, but enhance them.
LR: What are some of the determining factors for plant and material selection with stormwater collection and reuse considerations? ES: Selecting shoreline plants for stormwater areas is more challenging than selecting plants for a typical landscape. Site conditions, such as water depth fluctuation, soil conditions, bank slopes and light availability, can vary greatly and are more difficult to control. Usually selecting native aquatic or wetland species that are adapted to the environmental conditions increases their chance to survive and adapt to their new site. In addition to this, they need to be tolerant of both wet and dry conditions to be able to adapt well.
design and construction of a campus landscape that seamlessly integrates the hospital with its surroundings through plant selection, stormwater retention areas, and constructed wetlands. A major landscape element that became a landmark of the site and helped shape the main entry experience as well as the dining plaza landscape, was a grove of mature existing pine and oak located right next to the building. Situated between preserved wetlands that offer restorative views of nature, and the curved patient tower, the preserved grove became a major organizing feature for creating a figural outdoor gathering space. During the last year of construction, there were a number of safety concerns raised by the client due to the grove proximity to the main dining plaza, leading the client to consider removing it. We discussed with the client the importance of preserving this area and I spent a few days with an arborist and the landscape contractor’s team to clean and prune the grove to lessen the client safety concerns.
LR: Where do you get the inspiration for your design? ES: I always start any new design by trying to find what makes a place special. Some of the main factors that influence me when beginning a design process are the surroundings, the climate, the people, and the history of the place. Furthermore, as with any artist, I am inspired by things that have shaped my perception of the world – my beliefs, my experiences, the places I’ve visited and the music to which I’ve listened. In particular, art, mathematics, and nature itself are the three major elements that shape my design process.
LR: Is there a particular up-coming project, or something “on the boards” that you would like to share with us? ES: I am currently involved with a few hospital projects. The idea of designing and building therapeutic landscapes that ultimately help people in need is rewarding and fulfilling. Another recent
project was the redesign of a small courtyard at Macalester College in Minneapolis. I took particular interest to the project since it featured a space intended to host a sculpture by the world renowned sculptor Isamu Noguchi. The sculpture was originally created to serve as a central element in a rectangular water feature, part of the garden Noguchi designed for the Reader’s Digest office in Tokyo in 1951. I found the story of the sculpture creation and its travel around the world intriguing and it allowed me to explore ideas that have always inspired me since my time in Japan. The new courtyard design draws inspiration from Noguchi’s original 1951 Tokyo garden that featured the sculpture, his diverse portfolio of landscape work, and traditional Japanese garden art that influenced and inspired many of Noguchi’s landscape designs.
LR: What are you currently fascinated by and how is it influencing your work? ES: I enjoy traveling around the world, exploring and photographing beautiful and memorable places. A few months ago, I visited several National Parks, including Yosemite, Zion, Bryce, and some amazing remote areas in Utah and Arizona. The colors of the landscape and the stone formations were simply spectacular. The unique, geometrical nature patterns were fascinating to behold. In turn, I keep finding many ways for abstracting nature and translating it into simple design forms.
LR: What career advice would you give to a recently graduated landscape architecture student? ES: Landscape architecture is a career that offers a lot of opportunities with a broad spectrum of work. It is a complex and challenging profession, which benefits immensely from having an understanding about the complex relationships between our natural surroundings and the manmade world we keep creating. As you explore the many facets of this wonderful profession, always be open to these relationships.
LR: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/ realization of your concept? ES: One of the major challenges with the Virtua Hospital site design was finding a way to mitigate the effects of a large structure and the associated massive parking area in a sensitive ecological environment. The project work started with a one week walk and evaluation of the site. This allowed us to create an inventory of the existing plant communities and identify critical preservation areas. Extensive site analysis led to
Virtua Voorhees Hospital, photo credit to HGA Architects and Engineers
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INTERVIEW
joj Lan o_lr@ dsc 163 ape .co m R e Re-envision the Role of Landscape cor Architecture and Water Management d - An Interview with Cannon Ivers, LDA Design
B. Cannon Ivers B. Cannon Ivers is an associate with LDA Design and a Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute. He brings a creative, conceptual design specialism to LDA Design’s London Office. LDA Design is an independent, design, environment and sustainability consultancy. Established for over 30 years with a professional team of over 120 people, they work in the UK and internationally and equally, for the private and public sector. Cannon’s work is driven by threedimensional design and analysis, resulting in contemporary and responsive design solutions to the constraints and strengths that exist within a site. Cannon has a rich appreciation of the importance of sitespecific characteristics and strives to create sympathetic and complementary design solutions. His designs are brought to life with explanatory diagram and highquality visualizations to communicate his conceptual ideas in a clear, engaging and imaginative way. He often enlists 3D technology and CNC fabrication to realize complex and interesting forms in an effective way. Cannon’s design ideas are underpinned by rigorous site analysis, historic research and an understanding of contemporary approaches to best practice in landscape design. 122
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LR: Water-Resilient City is a new concept of stormwater management in China. Could you talk about your understanding?
LR: What do you think about the importance of stormwater management in a city? Why would we need to create a water-resilient city?
Cannon Ivers (CI): Although I’m not fully verses in the Water-Resilient City concept in China, I surmise that it has parity with the wider perception of water and the shifting attitude of designers towards the presence and movement of water within and through designed space. Water is no longer an engineering problem, limited to the jurisdiction of engineers alone, where the only design response where water is concerned is to keep it at bay. Rather, water and the different properties and characteristics that it affords, is being embraced in new and imaginative ways. The capturing, attenuation and curated movement of water, which was once a hidden process concealed by underground pipes, is now a fundamental tenet of contemporary design. The Water-Resilient City stormwater management likely resembles the evolution of our attitudes towards water in built-up urban areas in a variety of cultures and contexts. As our collective understanding of climate change deepens, the requirement of all design professions to work together to both harness water where climates will become drier and defend against the barrage of storm surges and more regular flooding in areas predicted to get wetter is of paramount concern.
CI: Designing with and for the management of water is a fundamental starting point for many contemporary practices. As landscape architects, we design primarily with the ground, shaping and manipulating topography and, therefore, changing the lay of the land. The re-working of topography, or changing the levels of apparent flat urban spaces, has a direct and inseparable relationship with water. If the designer is considering ways that water can have an active and visible role in the design, the resulting project has the potential to be more dynamic and didactic; perhaps educating the wider public on the behavior of water, its value as a resource and the design of management systems. When the Portland rain gardens were published and circulated across the various literature of the profession in the early 2000’s, perceptions were shifted to re-envisioning the role of landscape architecture and water management. (Fig. 1) SUDS were already being incorporated into many schemes, but the rain gardens afforded a new aesthetic, a poetic response to what was seen as a civil engineering problem at the time. The Portland scheme sparked a conversation around the role of designers to conceive novel and sustainable solutions to the management of water. This isn’t to say that designers weren’t already deeply entrenched in designing with water. Some practices such as MVVA had been doing it for years and their command of water in their designs has now become a signature tenet of their practice. So, there is an aesthetic argument about stormwater management and how it can make a visible 1
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improvement to urban space. There is also an environmental argument. If we can attenuate, redirect and ultimately re-use water then there is less of a draw from potable supplies taken from aquifers. The re-use also completes a natural cycle and benefits plants, cools the air and recharges water bodies along the way. Simply capturing surface water from roof tops is a powerful indicator of the sheer volume of rain water that soaks the land, although gathering rain water from roofs is not legal in parts of the world – a perverse restriction in my opinion. A water-resilient city is more likely than not also a beautiful city, where the marriage of moisture and vegetation has been dialed in so that plants that like having their feet wet are reveling in the conditions where they naturally flourish. A waterresilient city is also adaptable and hasn’t been engineered to keep water out, but designed to withstand and adapt to the fluctuations of nearby waterways. The incredible work by Turenscape for the Yanweizhou Park comes to mind, where flooding is not an occasional occurrence, but is expected. A large swathe of the park is designed to be overcome by floodwater and designed to withstand submersion, while bold bridges stay elevated above the floodwaters keeping the city connected. (Fig. 2)
In issue 90 of Topos magazine, Chris Reed of STOSS discusses the need for cities to “absorb, adapt and transform.” Reed makes the point that a city’s resilience should be about “the city’s ability to adapt to any number of possible effects of climate change – to absorb those effects and, perhaps, to re-tool city and landscape fabrics to accommodate change.” This in stark contrast to a “city’s ability to resist or hold back the effects of climate change, to simply buffer more against storms and water.” This image of the mutating and adapting city points to a shift in design thinking at the very core of the profession. It is a nascent outlook, but a powerful and projective vision of the future of urban life in the face of a changing planet.
LR: What kind of methods or materials can be used in landscape design for stormwater collecting and reusing? CI: The materiality and resolution of stormwater issues is largely driven by the context of the site and the design intent of the client and project team. Parks for instance play a critical role in the absorption of water inundations and if designed for everyday use as well as large storm events, parks can be incredible effective.
The open spaces act as a sponge, re-charging the water table and keeping excess water out of already over stresses sewer pipes. At the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, LDA Design with Hargreaves redesigned the landscape to work with the Lea River. During the construction of the park London experienced one of the wettest years on record. The Lea River swelled beyond its banks and spilled into the adjacent landscape in precisely the way the designers had expected and the park performed its role in absorbing the surplus water. The newly installed wet woodlands withstood the inundation and continued to flourish when the waters receded. (Fig. 3) The reed edge along the river serves to stabilize the park and adjacent topography. The signature landforms of the park were designed to collect and channel water to the River Lea, using the plants to cleanse the water by capturing particles, filtering debris and mild pollutants before ultimately discharging cleaner water into the river. (Fig. 4) These swales, though performing a very utilitarian role, appear as beautifully crafted flourishes of high horticulture by the green fingered intelligentsia Nigel Dunnett and James Hitchmough. The planting has been fine-tuned to the material characteristics of the soil and the moisture content of the swale. (Fig. 5)
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Benthemplein. Here, the impending rains do more than animate the space with flows of water; the rains completely transform the space. What was a multi-sport ball court is now a retention pool where all the water from hard surfaces and adjacent roofs has been directed. Even the flow of water into the court has been carefully considered and adds drama to the scheme. This project and others by De Urbanisten are ushering in a new landscape typology where the landscape is driven by the dynamic and sudden arrival of water, celebrating the slow and largely unseen process of dispersion and evaporation.
LR: What sort of plants should be used? Do you have any criteria to select plants?
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The design of parks in the interest of the resilient city can also be seen in BIG’s response to the Rebuild by Design competition after superstorm Sandy with their Dryline proposal. (Fig. 6) The proposal relies on a merger of landscape and infrastructure to create a new park system for lower Manhattan that bolsters the city’s defenses against storm surges. This proposal goes some way to address the “absorb, adapt and transform” call to arms put forward by Chris Reed by establishing a series of park spaces that can absorb and redirect storm surges. These are coupled with hard core engineered infrastructural elements that can withstand hurricane force conditions. On a smaller scale, many hard landscaped areas must also be able to address inundation and 124
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surface water runoff, but the water doesn’t have to disappear into pipes never to be seen by the public. At Burgess Park in London, the hard paved entrances, more like linear plazas, are pitched to direct all the surface water runoff into a series of rain gardens. Decorative in nature, but performative and hard-working, the rain gardens take all of the surface rain water and use it to create a particular type of habitat that would not exist without the moisture fluctuation from inundation to dry. Carefully selected plants and trees provide a colorful display and thrive in this type of environment. (Fig. 7-8) Perhaps one of the more dramatic contemporary projects that has the management of water at the core of the design solution is De Urbanisten’s project in Rotterdam called Water Square
CI: In the UK, Nigel Dunnett is a leading proponent of rain gardens, both in the public realm and domestically. His work at the London Wetland Center demonstrates how rain water captured from an adjacent roof can be harnessed and choreographed through a series of planted pools. Each of the planters has been planted with species that will flourish based on the available moisture content in the planter. Dunnett uses a range of perennials and grasses that can withstand periods of inundation and absolute saturation through the spectrum to periods of dry weather. Rudbeckia, Astilbe, Calamagrostis, Carex, Dryopteris and Veronicastrum are just some of the species. (Fig. 9) I encourage everyone to look at Nigel’s work if they are interested in the way that planting and water management can enmesh. At Burgess Park, LDA Design used rain gardens for their decorative and performative qualities at the entrances and at the base of the 6-meter sculpted landforms. We then collaborated with James Hitchmough to devise a planting selection that would flourish in the rain garden and also provide a stunning seasonal display throughout the year. At the Battersea Powerstation Popup Park, I created a similar planting scheme, evolving from the work at Burgess Park and finetuning the mix to the site. Both designs use a mix of perennials and grasses, with a focus on late season species that flower when the majority of native species are past their floriferous sellby-date. These include, nassella, molinia, hemerocallis, dianthus, asters, rudbeckia, veronicastrum, carex and alliums. In these schemes there is always a “star performer” that emerges as the other main species are going over from flower into the process of death and decay, as shown here at Battersea Powerstation Pop-up Park using dianthus and veronicastrum. (Fig. 10) This approach to the planting creates a uniform drama as a single species appears to be blooming in isolation in the rain garden at any one time. This can be seen in the photos of the Battersea Powerstation Pop-up Park rain garden taken at different times of the year. (Fig. 11)
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LR: What kind of materials should be chosen for the paving area?
it? Could you give an example to explain?
CI: The selection of the paving depends on the performative qualities of the scheme. Some paving might be chosen because it is permeable and the surface water will either percolate into the ground to recharge the water table, or will be collected sub-surface to be used elsewhere in the scheme. Otherwise, the paving is impervious and the surface water is being directed to rain gardens, swales or other attenuation devices.
CI: I’ve alluded to rain gardens in previous answers; however, the installation can vary depending on the project. With the rain gardens that I have designed, sunken areas are created and percolation tests are carried out to ensure that the water will drain away into the ground and find the water table. Once this test has been carried out, planting medium is mixed with the existing soil and the plants are added. A final layer of gravel mulch is applied over the plants, which gives a visual uniformity and also acts as a sponge for incoming surface rain water. The drainage is fundamental. The plants can tolerate
LR: Rain garden is a small system that makes use of rainwater. How does it work and how to install
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being submerged, but the water cannot stagnate. It can be left to pool for a period of time but it must drain away or the plants will perish. (Fig. 12) The other aspect of the design that is critical is the detail where the water will enter the rain garden. During a heavy deluge, the flow rate of sheet draining water can erode loose paving, bound gravels and sub-base construction. It is critical that this detail is resolved and that the finished design will be robust enough to withstand heavy rainfall and the velocity of the flowing water. Lastly, many rain gardens are designed as a sequence of attenuation beds, meaning that as one bed fills with water to capacity, the system has been designed for the water to drain to the next pool and so on. This is
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