Nicholas Sisam Graduate Landscape Architecture Portfolio by Nick Sisam

NICHOLAS SISAM GRADUATE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

PREFACE

NEGOTIATED STUDY

ACADEMIC WORK EXAMPLES

PRIVATE WORK

OTARA WATERWAY

AUCKLAND COUNCIL

TELEVISION WORK

KARAKA DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

VULCAN LANE

CONTACT

PREFACE The ability for landscape architecture to explore environmental and social issues within society was what first drew me towards studying. Through landscape architecture and urban design, the ability to create and influence a multitude of spaces became apparent to me, from large-scale public spaces down to small-scale site interventions. The way in which a broad spectrum of disciplines and influences are used to achieve design outcomes became clear to me throughout my studies, and further enhanced my desire to gain a greater understanding of the profession. After having completed my Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (Hons) at the end of 2014 in New Zealand, I have recently moved to the United Kingdom to gain professional experience and continue to develop my knowledge of the profession. It is my goal to use this experience and professional development to successfully contribute towards landscape architecture.

ENERGY EXCHANGE The need to provide for a secure and diversified energy future for the worlds growing population and related energy demands requires a fundamental shift in the way that power is generated. The dependence on fossil fuels is no longer sustainable, and the need to embrace a renewable energy future is crucial. As population increases, the ability to place sources of generation away from the communities that require them will diminish, resulting in an increased visibility of these structures. Traditional forms of power generation have been focused on a purely engineering perspective, with little concern for the aesthetics of these forms. In order to avoid the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;not in my backyardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reaction that society often has to generation points, the need to move away from the purely engineering and introduce the aesthetic to future developments is crucial. Can these forms evoke societies imagination if they respond to the landscape that they are nested within, and allow for an experiential moment for those that are near them? Could renewable energy go even further and become social and cultural landscapes that celebrate the landscape that they sit within? A study on the landscape of eastern Waiheke Island in Auckland was undertaken on how renewable energy technologies could be used to create these social and cultural landscapes in a way that responds to their surrounds. By combining both an engineering concern as well as a visual aesthetic to five interventions, it was demonstrated that generation points could not only respond to the landscape, but could provide a multitude of benefits and experiences to individual users as well as society as a whole. It also became clear that techniques used within this study have the ability to be used in any landscape to produce a myriad of potential outcomes once filtered through the individual experiences of those that undertake future developments.

Perspective E

Perspective

1:250

Perspective B

Plan 140

C1 D1 B

Perspective A

Cube forms comprised of solar panels are drawn from the idea of the low lying ventilation structures that emerge from the land throughout the site which served the gun emplacements constructed during World War Two, and also in reference to the scattered boulders that surround Stony Batter as a result of a volcanic eruption over 7 million years ago. A series of cubes have been laid out in the landscape to capture solar energy. The cubes serve as markers, which frame views and create a disrupted sense of scale in the landscape. Approaching the cubes from afar they appear to be nestled into the landscape, however whilst amongst them the cubes become significant structures providing shade, shelter, directing light for a range of ecosystems. This installation generates power through the use of embedded high performance monocrystalline solar cells on top of each cubes, which is the core of the solar energy production process. The direct current generated by the solar module is converted into alternating current by a power inverter and can be utilized directly, stored in batteries or fed into the grid. This form of solar cell was selected due to their reduced embedding loss, increased long-term stability and being particularly optimised for lasting high performance which is beneficial in terms of any ongoing maintenance or repair costs to the installation. Another benefit of this technology for the intervention is the conversion efficiency of this type of technology, which is between 18-20%.

Potential kWh/y = 586,000 Based on calculations from NIWA SolarView. Each cube surface area:16m2 (23,440kWh average per year) 25 cubes with a 400m2 surface area, with an estimate of 586,000kWh potential. Working with a 19% efficiency has the potential to generate 111,340 kWh

175

Native grass plantings surrounding structures 153

Solar cubes WWII 9.2 inch counter bombardment heavy coast defence battery. Existing vegetation

1:350

Battery remains

Plan C1

Integral to areas along the walking tracks are groves of trees, which create thick canopies. An intervention that mimicked the canopy of the vegetation stands was developed. This intervention creates a sense of the organic and utilises a thin film organic photovoltaic cell. This has an advantage over other silicon type cells as it means that it can be easily fabricated into flexible shapes and adhered to fabrics, as well as functioning well under low light levels and at non-perpendicular angles, as well as being semi-translucent. The vegetation stands have many small, hidden areas throughout the site. These were used to develop a sense of enclosure and removed from the openness and large landscapes of the rest of the site. Areas of the canopy are coated with thin-film photovoltaic cell (TFPV), which is a second-generation solar cell that is made by depositing one or more layers of thin film photovoltaic material on the substrate, in this case the carbon fibre structure of the trees. The thin film is incredibly thin, ranging from a few nanometres to tens of micrometers, which allows the cells to be flexible and results in a far lower overall weight being placed on the tree structures.

Thin film technology has always been cheaper to produce than the more conventional solar arrays that people are familiar with, but have had a lower conversion efficiency. In recent years the conversion efficiency has increased dramatically, and testing has reached almost 20% conversion efficiency.

Cell

Module

1:500

Array C

https://www.northamericansolarstores.com/how-solar-pv-works.php

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/solar/review2.php

Total kWh/y = 2,314,874

Surface Area:1580m2

105

A1 B1 Existing surrounding vegetation

110

Carbon fibre solar tree Native grass plantings surrounding structures Elevated timber walkway

1:250

1:300

OTARA LAKE + WATERWAYS Otara Lake is situated to the east of state highway one and feeds into the Tamaki River. Otara Lake was formed in 1968 when the New Zealand Electricity Department constructed a weir across the mouth of the Otara Creek tributary. The construction of the weir provides a constant pool of water used to cool the Otahuhu Power Station. The construction of the weir altered the natural process of the tidal flow, causing a number of significant changes to the lakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environment. The containment of the water resulted in sediment build up in the lake, and altering the tidal cycle of the lake has caused mangroves to expand across the lake. The construction of the weir means the water is no longer flushed tidally, which has caused siltation and the rapid expansion of mangroves. The current state of the estuary is highly degraded and polluted and presently unusable for recreation activities. The main sources contributing to the degradation of the waterway are issues such as the storm water management in the greater catchment, the installation of the Otara Lake weir effecting natural tidal and sedimentation processes, adjacent industrial activities and the landfill at Nagti Otara Reserve. In light of these problems, different remediation techniques have been researched and the most applicable to the site explored. These include dredging techniques, dewatering of the subsequent sediment, the installation of various forms of wetland and phytoremediation, weir design techniques to replicate natural tidal cycles and better accommodate aquatic movement, and ideas for utilising sediment and landfill gas on site The time frame for this restoration has been broken into phases because of the scale of the clean-up required and the length of time this is projected to take. Once each phase is complete the opportunity to advance to finer scale issues develops.

• • • •

Dredge main estuary channel. Use dredged sediments new land along shoreline. Remove weir. Plant salt-mash, wetlands species to stabilise earthworks, treating stormwater run-off and leachate from landfill.

PHASE ONE

PHASE TWO

OUTCOME

• •

•

Dredged sedime material (mudcre

• •

Re-claimed wetla

Cap landfill with mudcrete*. Lay dredged sediment mixed with soil on top of landfill capping. Plant with native grasses. Build path network and roads using mudcrete. Re-vegetate existing shoreline with native coastal plants. *mudcrete is a material made from a combination of dredged contaminated silt and cement.

PHASE ONE • • • •

Dredge main estuary channel. Use dredged sediments for new land along shoreline. Remove weir. Plant salt-marsh and wetland species to stabilise earthworks, treat stormwater run-off and leachate from landfill.

PHASE TWO •

• •

PHASE TWO

OUTCOMESPHASE THREE

PHASE THREE

Re-claimed wetlands will help mitigate local existing and future pollution inflows.

Dredged sedime preventing furth

Re-establishing t maintenance req wetlands addres

Re-activating the contact with the Adding value to waterways.

Re-establishing t

FLORA AND

Relocate marae to and establish a new sense to of create place.a stable building Dredged sediment used • onsite for land reclamation combined with cement •Cap Caplandfill landfill with with mudcrete*. Lay Lay dredged sediment mudcrete*. • Re-locate Marae to re-establish reducing the re-vegetate cost of disposal off site. • Selectively sports fields and eastern mixed with soil on top of landfill capping and plantmaterial with (mudcrete). Significantly dredged sediment mixed with soil boundary. sense of place. native species. Dredged sediment mixed with cement forming mudcrete, permanently stabilises heavy metal contaminants •Selectively Re-introduce aquatic species for food damage. re-vegetate toppath of network landfill and capping. Plantmudcrete. preventing further•environmental •onBuild roads using sports fieldsource and improved water quality with native coastal plants. •with Re-vegetate shoreline with native coastal plants. native existing grasses. and eastern boundary. Sarcocorina quinqueflora

Re-establishing the estuary re-stores the natural processes, creating long term sustainability and reduced maintenance requirements. Ecological services, such as phytoremediation planting extract heavy metals and *mudcrete is a material made from a combination of dredged contaminated wetlands address stormwater. silt and cement.

Build path network and roads using mudcrete. Re-vegetate existing shoreline with native coastal plants.

*mudcrete is a material made from a combination of dredged contaminated silt and cement.

•

Re-introduce aquatic species for food source and improved water Re-activating the estuary with natural tidal flushing, is the fastest and most efficient method of re-establishing contact with the water. quality with native coastal plants. High Tide

Channel

Adding value to the local and wider community, as part of a network that connects to surrounding parks and waterways.

Eel

Re-establishing the aesthetic heritage, spiritual and cultural values, by activating a natural functioning waterway.

KARAKA DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY This was a third year studio focused around creating a development strategy for Karaka. It involved creating mixed density housing comprising of apartments, terrace housing, and detached dwellings. Incorporated into this was public open space and productive land, as well as a circulation network throughout the site. The final part of this studio was developing an on-site storm-water treatment device. For this I developed a series of constructed wetlands to treat runoff and then discharge this into surrounding stream networks. A focus on a small built footprint in order to maximise the public open space and revegetation potential of the site. The large scale public open space and revegetation are intended to increase the ecological functionality of the Karaka area by providing a green network that will increase the connectivity of vegetation patches throughout the wider area as well as creating new habitat areas for flora and fauna. Mixed density residential development is in clusters throughout the wider site in order to protect and maintain areas of vegetation and productive land and maintain elements of the rural character of Karaka. By following a peri-urban form of growth, urban expansion within the rural surroundings creates a landscape that combines both urban and rural spatial arrangements while encompassing social and economic activities of both.

1.5km 3km 3km

Ecological Ecological

5 minutes 10 minutes 10 minutes

Cycling Cycling

Integrating the Urban and Rural Form Integrating the Urban and Rural Form

Karaka Gateway

Slope

Floodplains

Urban Growth Strategy

Karaka Gateway

Connectivity Zone Maps Connectivity Zone Maps

Ecological Areas

Ecological

5 minutes

1.5km

5 minutes

1.5km 3km

5 minutes 10 minutes

3km

Ecological Elevation

Walking

10 minu

Walking

Coastal Environment

Streams

5 minu 10 min

Cycling Cycling

Karaka Gateway Karaka Gateway

10 minutes

5 minutes 10 minutes Walking

10 minutes

Walking

Integrating the Urban and Rural Form Integrating the Urban and Rural Form 19

Urban development poses a risk to the overall ecological health of the wider Auckland area through habitat fragmentation and destruction. Through increased pressure from urban expansion, especially through higher demand for more residential lots, the need to protect areas of existing native vegetation as well as develop new patches of vegetation must become a priority within future developments. Tracts of public land are revegetated using indigenous species in order to develop habitat creation, ecological health of the site and population survival. By creating a green network of vegetation throughout the wider area, the overall connectivity of the surrounding environment will be increased. Species selection is based upon indigenous species that will support native fauna species, especially birds and insects, and help support the pollination ecology of the wider area. By providing a green network of vegetation, suitable movement corridors are provided for native birds, as many will not fly over open or built-up areas. As native birds rely upon food from native plants, it is important that these tracts of land are protected to provide a suitable level of food for native species. The revegetated tracts of land not only provide habitat creation and ecological health to the site, they provide areas of active recreation in the form of tracks and walkways that spread across the Karaka area.

Karaka Masterplan

A focus on a small built footprint in order to maximise the public open space and revegetation potential of the site. The large scale public open space and revegetation are intended to increase the ecological functionality of the Karaka area by providing a green network that will increase the connectivity of vegetation patches throughout the wider area as well as creating new habitat areas for flora and fauna. Mixed density residential development is in clusters throughout the wider site in order to protect and maintain areas of vegetation and productive land and maintain elements of the rural character of Karaka. By following a periurban form of growth, urban expansion within the rural surroundings creates a landscape that combines both urban and rural spatial arrangements while encompassing social and economic activities of both.

Stormwater systems

Open space

Productive land

Revegetation

Mixed density residential

Cycleway

Pedestrian circulation

Road network

Public Open Space

Areas of both active and passive recreational public open space have been preserved in order to recognize the value that these spaces provide. As public open space is a critical component of healthy lifestyles; protecting, promoting, and improving access to these areas is central. By locating these areas around higher residential densities, the use of these spaces will be increased, ensuring that a variety of function opportunities are utilised, such as physical activity, passive recreation, access to the natural environment, and areas for children to play. By providing open space areas, the ability for people to meet and interact will contribute towards social cohesion and inclusion. The public space of the site is designed to service the wider area, and provides a central area for sports fields for active recreation. The open space also allows for connection to the revegetated areas which have a network of walkways providing another form of recreation.

VULCAN LANE Vulcan Lane contributes significantly to Aucklandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inner city in terms of its streetscape and as a social meeting place. A unique atmosphere is apparent through both its pedestrian nature, as well as a wide variety of architectural styles ranging from ornate Victorian facades through to more modern buildings. The lane has served as a pedestrian thoroughfare for over 120 years and has adapted to changes in commercial development of the city through to present day. It was with this in mind that the intervention in Vulcan Lane was focused on respecting the historical and architectural nature of the lane. The space is a successful destination as well as transitional space during the day, but becomes less used during the evening, with entertainment and hospitality using only a small portion of the lane. In order to continue to allow for the large numbers of people passing through the site during the day, the main design move was focused on the planes above the ground level, which would also reinforce the enclosed nature of the space. The use of metallic outdoor scrims was chosen as these are transparent during the day, allowing the lane to remain open and light filled. The metal scrims are at varying levels and will have an overall theme of projections that are capable of change. Projections were used in order to easily change the environment rather than using more fixed structures. The bench seating used is also intended to be moved to the side of the lane, through the use of recessed tracks, where they can then be flipped up displaying artworks on the underside of the benchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that are hidden during the day, which is intended to create a gallery effect along the side of the lane. Being able to clear the lane entirely of fixed furniture was also intended to allow the bars and restaurants to more fully utilise the lane at night, as well as allowing for the lane to be used for small-scale events and encourage a more diverse hospitality, entertainment and cultural area.

Queen Street

High Street

Prudential Building

Occidental Hotel

Cleave’s Building

Queen’s Ferry Hotel

Vulcan Buildings

Gifford’s Building

Queen Street Individual outdoor metal scrimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attached to top of buildings for changing night time projections. Scrimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are transparent during the day in order to allow sunlight into Vulcan Lane.

Bench seating on recessed tracks. Seating is moved to the edge of Vulcan Lane in the evening and flipped vertically to expose changing artwork underneath seating.

AUCKLAND COUNCIL Originally being given the opportunity to internship with the Parks Design Team within Auckland Council which is a team 7 landscape architects within the Parks, Sports and Recreation department who are responsible for providing specialist landscape architectural design and advice on a range of projects associated with the development of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s open spaces. Since then I have been engaged to provide independent contract work to support the development of projects ranging from local board presentations to public consultation on a range of projects within the Auckland area. This work involved converting hand drawn and CAD files into 3-dimesional models. Once this was completed appropriate areas were selected to render and photoshop to provide imagery in support of Auckland Council documents.

TELEVISION Currently I am working on a series of images for the third season of ‘How Did You Do That’ which will screen in late 2015 in New Zealand. This season focuses on Piha on the west coast of Auckland, and a family building an architecturally designed modular home. The build is focused around sustainability and eco-friendly practices, as well as the landscaping within the property. I am creating the ‘after’ images which will give the audience an impression of what the final build and layout of the property will look like.

QUALIFICATIONS & AWARDS Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (Hons) Unitec - New Zealand

Bachelor of Arts University of Auckland - New Zealand

Boffa Miskell CAD Award 2014 Department of Landscape Architecture Award for Outstanding Performance 2011

RECENT WORK Pres. - Contract visual landscape architecture projects Auckland Council & private work

CONTACT

2014 - Completed Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (Hons) 2014 - Peer-reviewed published article: x-section 2014 - Internship Auckland Council Parks, Sport and Recreation Design Team

nicksisam@gmail.com â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Tel: +44 747 0320 170

2013 - Negotiated Study (Exchange - Europe) Including collabrative workshop with Dutch students from

VHL University of Applied Sciences

2013 - x-section Journal Issue 3 - Design & Production http://www.xsectionjournal.com/