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This site offers to plan an entire development around the concept. Carry out both residential and commercial development meanwhile preserving the rural character and environmental features. Reasonably develop pedestrian and cyclist priority transport strategy.
The site we selected for further development is located on the west Puhinui. The total area of the land is 79 hecatres. The site includes three densities and abundant hydrological character which brings intensive ecological development.. The Price Road runs through north to south on the east of this site and divided our proposed high and medium density. This site contains fluent transition from high density to low density.
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The site is located on the west Puhinui include small coastline. The topography is generally flat but undulating with streams throughout the site. The highest point is on the central and west area that provides beautiful coastal view.
The warm colour to cold colour pattern defines the northerly to southerly aspect. Normally north-facing houses get much more sunlight daily than south-facing house. Although there is quite a lot cold colour showing on the map, as the site was essentially flat, the south part is still ideal for dwelling development.
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The map used to find the area with steep slopes. The red part is the retired land with over 15-degree slope. These areas will be the basis for re-vegetation scheme. The site is majorly flat with some gently undulating area and ideally provides most land for built development.
The majority of the existing vegetation on the site is high producing grassland, on the east site there has small cropland and shelterbelts. The mangrove, which is ecological significance, is in the coastal side. This area has no significant native or exotic forest. In the project one strategy, this area is all included for urbanisation into three different densities.
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This map shows three main waterways though out the site. The design proposed to plant 15m re-vegetation buffer for the stream and 40m buffer for the coastal to protect the hydrological environment.
The map shows the water collective direction which indicate the storm water implement with landform to assure drainage and water management on site.
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There is not much can be seen on the high density as it is not siting on the highest point in the site. However the visible area showing on the map has good opportunity to build for view and open space.
This map shows what people can see from the outside coastal walkway. This helped to deciding this visible land could be developed to nice view and also helps for the coastal buffer pervasive vision.
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The road keeps linear and minimal to reduce impermeable surface and encourage cycle and walking use. There are three 20m wide main road that run throughout the side, including two-lane driveway, one cycle pedestrian share path on each side, the left driveway will be the roadside parking in normal traffic time and also could be bus lane which depends on the future traffic and population growth. The roads will utilise permeable asphalt to reduce water runoff. The main roads allocate swales and street trees on each side, the ring road built mainly along the water catchment line for runoff stormwater.
The residential development consist of different house types like apartment, terracing house and detached dwelling in order to separate high, medium and low density for different requirements. The apartments of high density are mixed with commercial, retail and other facility buildings to provide local economic opportunities for surrounding residents and reducing car dependence. Up to 6 stories social house type encourages community and recreation with its concentrated open space. The building rooftop will be green to reduce stormwater runoff and provide interesting outlook.
The trail way provides cyclists and pedestrians connectivity through the site with the road system. The trail works more like extension of the main road that will access to open space, vegetation buffer zone and urban farming area and provides fully experience of the rural character all through the site. The trail way will be gravel and/or concrete surface depends on the particular environment. The paths will be flush with the ground level which allow maintain and harvest machinery to access.
Medium density has community layout with terracing house, urban farm and central green space effectively increase unhindered and vibrant communities value. The commercial area provide cluster hub and enhance social interaction for medium and low density. Low density provide up to 2 stories and abundant green space and delightful natural environment. Although disperse all building is linked to high density within 2km walk distance and straight roads for rapid mobility. In 79 ha area, high density has 8ha which provide 480 apartments for dwelling, 12ha medium density zone provide 240 terrace housing and cluster housing and 300 individual house sit on 19ha low density place. The site can contain total population is 2880-3900 people.
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The existing vegetation on the site is primarily high producing grassland, small cropland and shelterbelts. The only ecological significant vegetation is mangrove along the coast. Through increased urban development on the site, the ecological health has been threatened therefore protecting those natural element by new vegetation is urgency for future development.
The selected site has very abundant water resource and hydrological character. Analysing the waterways location and landform to decide the land to be unsuitable for built development. According to the GIS data to define the waterways as streams and have guided to layout the re-vegetation zone, stormwater system and built footprint. All the streams have been buffered 15m with indigenous vegetation and riparian planting to mitigate the erosion and sedimentation while the stormeater running off. The coastline have been buffered at least 40m.
Indigenous re-vegetation zone has designed along the waterways, extend for small branches and shrink for the road and bridge of 15m. Enhancing the environmental amenity and natural habitat with broad species diversity. Buffer zone can also protect the inside vegetation from wind and reducing the stormwater towards the waterways and address the sediment.
The flow accumulation and terrain have helped to located stomewater ponds to show where natural runoff occurring place. Swales and rain gardens have been designed along the road or beside the road in open space. Those design provide important section of water treatment by increasing water infiltration and cyclic utilization. Green roof can also address the stormwater runoff with other water management system.
The open space between the high and medium density zone provide a nice place for recreation and provide opportunity for creating a natural landscape park within the city by plant indigenous vegetation through out the area.
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To preserve the rural character for Puhinui and raise community values for new dwellers, also build little patch of fresh breathing space for this rapid developing new urbanization, urban farming is a comprehensively inclusive way to amalgamate these factors in urban design.
The public open space for recreation has been lay out for preserved the re-vegetation buffer and rural character. The public space is the conclusive element for healthy lifestyles and promoting the natural environment in massive urban development. Mainly locating the open space around re-vegetation buffer to ensure variety function opportunities are utilised such as access to natural environment and physical activity, and also form to the central park with buffer zone and stormwater ponds.
Puhinui’ s soil type is very arable and basically flat for growing crops. In medium density zone, terrace housing has limit private space so that encourage to grouped land in large and cohensive area for urban farming. The adjacent productive land will provide more opptunities for both commercial and communical use by cooprating with the urban farming. This model can also used in high density building courtyard and green roof for reducing harmful runoff and provide small effect to counter the unpleasant heat island effect.
The open space provides activity area for high and medium density dwellers that don’t have large scale private space as low density dwellers. The massive open space located between the high and medium density provide a legible gateway which divide the urban and rural character.
The urban farming land all located within 1km connectivity radius. The urban farming will create small scale physical and economic benefits for local community and encourage organic and local food product.
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Building small and concentrate building footprint is in order to extend public open space and re-vegetation buffer on the site. The large scale public open space and re-vegetation can accomplish both aesthetic and ecological enhancement by their fresh look and providing green network. It will ecologically increase the connectivity of vegetation patches in order to create new habitat for flora and fauna throughout Puhinui. They also bring a breathing and communal place for urban dwellers. The green gateway and circulation layout can maintain the rural character of Puhinui. Therefore the site need cluster hub for servicing the surrounding residents. In future, as the city growth, this area still has potential with the rural surroundings to create urban expansion.
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REFERENCE
Howard, B(n.d.), Urban Farming Is Growing a Green Future, Retrieved from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/urban-farming/ Simonds, J & Starke, B (2006), Landscape Architecture: A Manual of Environmental Planning and Design, Published by McGraw-Hill Companies, New York, USA Thompson, G and Steiner, F (1997), Ecological Design and Planning, Published by John Wiley &Sons, Inc, New York, USA
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