Site analysis and response
The saltwater people The baykeepers
Fishermans Band is a part of Kulin nation. According to ACHRIS 2022, the area is a part of Bunurong Country. Saltwater is Bunurong people’s important identity.
Greenline
Before the British invasion, the area was a rainbow of different wetland ecosystems including Mangrove shrublands, with different salinity levels. Many mangrove forests are camping and meeting grounds for Bunurong, with rich food sources such as oysters, fish and mangrove seeds.
Conceptual
The Park has high ecological and recreational value but is disconnected from other green spaces.
This low-lying street will be very expensive to be retrofitted with raised roads or a sea wall due to the massive pipelines underneath.
The riverbanks of the Birrarung in the city will be built into a linear park, but the parklands do not connect to Fishermans Bend.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCxuumPxgiYI6GlMPAdt5suw
Design challenges and opportunities
Erased floodplain habitats
The original habitats onsite were largely erased in modern time.
Bunurong people believes that humans are entrusted to protect Nairm (Port Philip Bay).
If humans don’t maintain a healthy balance of the Country, the sea level will rise.
Education trail
The street wetlands and waterfront will provide a corridor for the education of Bunurong culture, urban ecology and WSUD.
Habitat corridor Flooding defence buffer
The waterfront will protect future development from waves during flooding events.
The project will connect West Gate Park to Greenline and allows wildlife movement.
shared path corridor Vehicle access
Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to easily arrive in Fishermans Bend from the project.
Soil contamination
The soil on site is contaminated with a diverse range of pollutants, such as PCBs and heavy metals.
Warming Climate
The climate on site will become warmer and dryer over the century, due to global warming and urban heat island effects.
Design potentials of mangrove ecosystems
Biodiversity
Mangrove ecosystems have a low number of plant species and support high animal biodiversity.
Phytoremediation
Many mangrove species such as grey mangrove (Avicennia marina) perform phytoremediation of PCBs and heavy metals.
Heat-loving ecosystems
The same mangrove species typically grow faster and taller in warmer regions.
After Lorimer Street being transformed, Williamstown Road will be utilized for future vehicle access.
Flooding
The area is prone to flooding. The flooding issue will worsen in the future due to sea level rise.
Sea level rise
Global warming leads to rising sea levels, which means low-lying area inundation, higher flooding risks, and encroaching water salinity.
Encroaching water salinity
The seawater rises with the sea level. This pushes the saltwater boundary further inland.
Flood protection
Mangrove forests lower the height of waves and protect the riverbanks from storm surges.
Sea level rise resilience
Mangrove forests accumulate sediments. This enables the ground level in the forests to rise with the sea level.
Water salinity adaptation
Mangroves can adapt to a completely different water salinity level if given one month of transition time, even from freshwater to hypersaline water.
Zhehao Wang 905817 2
Birrarung’s mangroves
Greenline
West Gate Park Lorimer St
The University of Melbourne Campus
Grey hatch: 2m sea level rise inundation and flooding risk areas
West Gate Park
Lorimer St
Stony Creek Backwash Mangrove forest
Fishermans
Bend: the past, present and future
Kulin nation, Bunurong Country (ACHRIS 2022)
Williamstown Rd Williamstown Rd
master plan 1:10000@A1 0 100 300 500m 100 300 500m 1:10000@A1 N 1 3 5 10 1:200@A1
AECOM. “Fishermans Bend Climate Readiness Strategy.” AECOM, 2018. Melbourne Water. “Planning for Sea Level Rise Guidelines Port Phillip and Westernport Region.” Melbourne Water, 2017. https://www.melbournewater.com.au/sites/default/files/Planning-for-sea-levels.pdf. NGIS. “Coastal Risk Australia 2100.” Coastal Risk Australia. Accessed November 3, 2022. https://coastalrisk.com.au/viewer.
Zhehao Wang 905817 3 +0.3m +0.8m +2m Detailed zones Salinity gradient on site, in different sea level rise scenarios in 2100* Saltwater Saltmarsh and mangroves
Brackish water Mangroves Freshwater Swampy woodlands Different ecosystems will be constructed along the salinity gradients, from the east side of Bayside Ave to the waterfront. 1 Shellfish breakwaters 2 Mangrove and saltmarsh breakwaters 3 Bird-watch buildings (retrofitted from pre-existing concrete factory buildings on site) 4 Artificial tidal mangrove ponds 5 Non-tidal mangrove ponds 6 Mangrove plaza 7 Brackish floodable lawns 8 Sunken wetlands 1 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 7 8 8 Salinity gradient, The University of Melbourne and Birrarung waterfront Hammerhead roadways, raised roads and properties Mangrove seawalls Ports among mangroves U turn roads and raised roads Future grey infrastructure hybrid scenarios 1:2000 @ A1 1:2000 @ A1 1:2000 @ A1 Legends Waterbody salinity Vegetation types Bayside Ave Lorimer St Lorimer St Bayside Ave The University of Melbourne Tech Dock The University of Melbourne Campus Building Office building Office building Office building Office building Birrarung River GST Group 2.5m 2.5m 2.5m 2.0m 2.0m 2.0m 1.5m 1.5m 1.5m 1.5m 3.0m 3.0m 2.5m Average River water level: 1.75m AHD Train Track (Port of Melbourne - city) N 10 1:200@A11:750 @ A1 0 5 20 50m 5 20 50m 1:750@A1
Zhehao Wang 905817 4 Freshwater Brackish water
The sunken wetlands (WSUD) 2040 Perspective 2040 Perspective High tide: 2.25m AHD Low tide: 1.75m AHD Wildlife Rufous Fantail Superb Fairy-wren Rhipidura rufifrons Malurus cyaneus Sand Cockle Latham’s Snipe Katelysia scalarina Gallinago hardwickii Bass Yabby Trypaea australiensis Swampy woodland ecological communities Orange Mangrove Bruguiera gymnorhiza Mangrove woodlands ecological communities White Mangrove Avicennia marina River Mangrove Aegiceras corniculatum Red Mangrove Rhizophora stylosa Milky Mangrove Excoecaria agallocha Dwarf Grass-wrack Tuberous Seatassel Zostera muelleri Ruppia tuberosa Yellow Mangrove Ceriops australis Grey Tussock-grass Poa sieberiana Plants Silver Banksia Banksia marginata Mookitch Solanum laciniatum Coast Manna Gum Kayaking Fishing Cycling Sitting Lawn Grass Concrete pavers Salvaged Shell mulch Waterbody (Fresh) Asphalt Steel grating bridge Waterbody (Brackish) Waterbody (Salty) Outdoor dinning Eucalyptus viminalis subsp. pryoriana Black Wattle Acacia mearnsii Yellow-Eye Mullet Aldrichetta forsteri Legends of species’ ecological functions Feeding relationships Feed on insects Feed on birds Feed on mollusks Feed on fishes Feed on crustacea Feed on plant materials Stratification Canopy layer Shrub layer Herbaceous layer Ground cover layer Aquatic Habitat creation water purification Insects’ habitats Bank stabilization Bioremediation Mollusca habitats Crustacea habitats Fishes’ habitats Birds’ habitats Water
future
Heat waste-landscape
The heat waste from the buildings will be redirected into the ponds, which may facilitate plant growth and allow the introduction of mangroves
sunny
artificial
tide 2040, sunny
2100, Storm event 2100,
135 1:100@A1 0 1 3 5m 1:100@A1 N 1 3 5 10
0 1 3 5 10m 1:200@A1 1 3 5 10
N 1 3 5 10
2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 Location of the zoomed in areas Saltwater Saltwater The landscape for Country The landscape for Country The landscape for human only The landscape for human only Brackish water Brackish water Freshwater Freshwater Freshwater Brackish water Saltwater Legends Car Food Truck New mangrove forests New mangrove forests New mangrove forests Bayside Ave Bayside Ave The University of Melbourne Tech Dock container truck container truck Car Car 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 3.00 3.00 2.25 2.25 2.75 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 1.75 1.75 2.25 Common Heath Epacris impressa
Artificial tidal mangrove ponds
pumps for the
floodplain
mutualism
from warmer climates. River water will be pumped into the ponds which are higher than the river. This allows the construction of wetlands on higher grounds and simulates tidal movements. The height of the ponds is based on the possible sea level rise height by 2100, which constructs floodplain habitats for the future. Office building 2025,
2025,
high
2040, artificial low tide
Sea level + 2m scenario, high tide U turn roads and raised roads scenario
1:200@A1
1:200@A1
1:200@A1
Zhehao Wang 905817 5 Mangrove-saltmarsh-shellfish breakwaters Designed ecological communities Saltwater Average River water level: 1.75m AHD High tide: 2.25m AHD Low tide: 1.75m AHD Wildlife Rakali Hydromys chrysogaster Coast Manna Gum White Mangrove Woods Woods Woods Woods Woods Saltmarsh on embarkment Saltmarsh on embarkment Shellfish breakwater Unit as artificial reefs Unit as embarkment Shellfish reefs Shellfish reefs Red Mangrove Lower wetland plants mix 1. +2m sea level rise storm surge level: 5m AHD 2. Current river flooding level: 3.4m AHD 3. +2m sea level rise tidal range: 2.25m-1.75m AHD 4. Current river water level: 1.75m AHD Path Train Track Black Wattle Lower wetland / intertidal zone (1.5m+ sea level rise) shellfish reefs Shiny Swamp-mat Selliera radicans Hairy Spinifex Spinifex sericeus Austral Seablite Suaeda australis Beaded Glasswort Sarcocornia quinqueflora subsp. Quinqueflora Australian Salt Grass Distichlis ditichophylla Blue sea mussel Mytilus edulis Mud Olyster Ostrea angas Variable Barnacle Amphibalanus variegatus Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis Black Bream Acanthopagrus butcheri Plants Filter feeders Prickly Tea-tree Leptospermum continentale Sea Rush Juncus kraussii ssp. Australiensis Upper wetland zone Truganini Atriplex semibaccata Common Spike-Rush Eleocharis acuta 2100, Sea level + 0.8m scenario 2100, Sea level + 2m scenario, high tide 2050 Perspective, Birrarung River waterfront, 2040 0 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.50 2.50 2.75 2.00 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.25 1.25 1.000.75 1 1 3 4 3 2 5 10m 1:200@A1 1:200@A1 1:75@A1 Not to scale 1 3 5 10 1:200@A1 N 1 3 5 10 1:200@A1 Shellfish reefs to facilitate mangrove performance Breakwater-embarkment units Research plots Research plots Research plots The units will allow root penetration and serve as artificial reefs. The units will be made of salvaged broken concrete, covered in an Ecocrete concrete mixture. The breakwaters will reduce the height of waves. 2. The shells will be used as mulch for pathways for half a year, for pathogens to die off. 1. The shells will be salvaged from local restaurants and cleaned. 3. The shells will be mulched onto the riverbed or sea floor. 4. Free-swimming larvae of oysters, mussels, and barnacles will attach to the shells and form the shellfish reef. Saltwater The landscape for Country The landscape for human only Brackish water Freshwater Bird-watch building Train Track Section, 2050 Shell mulch path Seagrass Seagrass Avicennia marina Excoecaria agallocha Aegiceras corniculatum Excoecaria agallocha Rhizophora stylosa Avicennia marina Aegiceras corniculatum Minor plots 1 tree species with shrub 1 tree species 2 tree species with shrub 2 tree species Plots The plots will be designed to blend into the surrounding landscapes. The research aims to discover optimum species recruitment in relationship to plantings.The results will inform the future
of the project. 1 tree species 3 tree species 1 tree species and shrubs 3 tree species and shrubs Major plots 10 3m 0 1 3m
phases
