diffuse energy
contextualizing the production and distribution of energy, the case of the Veneto region, Italy
2017—2018 IED INDIVIDUAL PROJECT Sarantis Georgiou
Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
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Abstract This research and design project concerns the planning and implementation of a new energy system in central Veneto. The main issue it addresses while tackling this objective is ‘contextualization’: how to plan and design an energy system that reflects the site at which it is employed? Such context includes the actual patterns of territorialization and urbanization, the conditions of the ground and its implications for the appropriation of the surface, environmental data and potential challenges and/or risks. Special emphasis has been given to the public nature and character of the proposed energy system. Moreover, the proposal attempts to re-cycle existing unused and/or under-utilized infrastructure. The area in question is at the interface of Porto Marghera and central Veneto. Otherwise referred to as ‘città diffusa’, the Metropolitan Area of Venice provides a complex context that, nevertheless, creates the possibilities for a contextual energy system in order to promote the decentralization and distribution of energy (the current scheme is largely centralized), addressing environmental concerns, and, at the same time, propose a new project of urbanization. The project is characterized by a ‘territorialization’ approach, that is, an approach that seeks to provide a new backbone for further appropriation of the space. The part that reflects this ‘territorialization’ to the highest degree, and is, thus, the first to be implemented, is a manipulation of the hydrographic system. After that, a regional reforestation project can take place and, finally, the architecture of individual energy production and distribution hubs and their immaterial networks can be realized. The implementation of this project is perceived to be able to aid in the advancement of the, already, dispersed/diffused territorial economy of the region. Focusing on further establishing conditions of dispersion and diffusion, the proposed decentralized-distributed energy system is set to promote an even more flattened territorial economy and, hence, to contribute in the continued progress of the territorial project of the Veneto region by responding to changes that have occurred in the regional and national economy these past few years.
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Research questions
[RQ1] How to imagine an energy system on the basis of a territory’s context? [S-RQ1] What elements constitute the territorial context?
- territorialization patterns
- urbanization patterns
- extensive hydraulic engineering
- surface - subsurface relations
- environmental qualities
- challenges/risks
[S-RQ2] What elements does an energy system signify?
- types of energy
- network forms
[S-RQ3] What are the specific elements of the case study territory?
- diffused/dispersed infrastructural project
- diffused/dispersed urbanization
- different water management requirements
- contamination/pollution
- climate change/hydraulic risk
[S-RQ4] What are the potential contextual energy systems?
- hydroelectric power
- biomass fermentation/digestion
[S-RQ5] What infrastructural projects are required for the implementation of a contextual energy system?
- weirs/capitalizing on the topography
- dams/responding to hydraulic risk
- regional reforestation/biomass production
[S-RQ6] What are the criteria for localization of the elements of the infrastructural project?
- concentrations of urban activities
- concentrations of environmental degradation
- zones of risk
[S-RQ7] What other elements must the energy system respond to/take into account?
- quality public environments/enhancement of environmental qualities of public space
- existing unused/under-utilized infrastructure
- potentials for further urbanization
5
[RQ2] How can an energy infrastructure project connect the production and distribution of
energy with risk management, environmental degradation mitigation, public space augmentation and economic development? [S-RQ] What are the operative elements for the desired connection?
- stakeholder integration and collaboration
- thorough site analysis
- use of multiple individuals’ and groups’ consultation and expertise
- development a transcalar, contextual, multidirectional and polyfunctional scheme
- focus on mechanisms and devices that pertain to the everyday life of the territory in question - development of a genealogical design research process
[RQ3] How can the infrastructural demands of an energy production and distribution project be translated into landscape elements?
[S-RQ1] What are the infrastructural demands of the conceived energy production and distribution project? [S-RQ2] What are the soft infrastructure solutions that could answer to the demands of the conceived energy production and distribution project?
[RQ4] How can the infrastructural demands of an energy production and distribution project
function as risk management, environmental degradation mitigation, public space augmentation and economic development mechanisms? [S-RQ] What are the spatial characteristics for this conflation of functions? -
[RQ4] How can existing infrastructure (both in use and unused or under-utilized) be re-
appropriated for the demands of the conceived energy production and distribution landscape infrastructure territorial project? [S-RQ] What are the spatial characteristics for this re-appropriation?
- polyfunctionality
[RQ5] How can the conceived energy production and distribution project contribute to a new wave of territorialization and urbanization of the region in question?
[S-RQ] What are the elements that function as drivers of territorialization and urbanization?
- water management
- risk management
- environmental degradation mitigation
- public space
- economic development
- infrastructural concentrations
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
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Referential Theories and Practices/Site Analysis
1 Ecological Structure
Figures
2 Protected Areas 3 Energy Network 4 Built Surface/ Industry & Manufacturing Zones & Sites/Railway Network Central Veneto 5km
Frame of reference Grid
This research and design project rests upon the work underwent at the Università Iuav di Venezia, mainly from Paola Viganò, Bernardo Secchi and Lorenzo Fabian [(Vigano & Fabian, 2010); (Vigano, Fabian, & Gianotti, 2012); (Universita Iuav di Venezia, 2012); (Universita Iuav di Venezia, 2013); (Vigano, Secchi, & Fabian, 2016)], as well as the theories and methodologies developed and proposed by Pierre Bélanger (2013). Furthermore, Filippo Lafleur’s “ReTerritorialization: A vision for Milan Urban region” (2016) and the projects elaborated under the “Delta Interventions Studio 2016-2017. San Francisco Bay - Resilience by Design. Designing for uncertain delta-landscape futures” graduation studio of the Department of Urbanism at TUDelft offered highly useful insights into the design process. Finally, the work underwent by RENZONI, C., & TOSI, M. C. (2018) on the venetian ‘città diffusa’ has been both an inspiration as well as a testing ground for the elaboration of this project. Starting from Bélanger, three key concepts were discussed through the elaboration of the project: contextuality, multi-directionality and poly-functionality. Under this framework, the infrastructural project has to take into account the conditions of both the ground, as well as the urbanization patterns (or, rather, the modalities of appropriation of space) in order to be embedded and not imposed on an already existing order. This is the precondition of the so called ‘soft infrastructure’ advocated by Bélanger: a type of infrastructure that attempts to go beyond
Vegetation Arboreal Shrubby/ Herbaceous Stunted Grasslands Permanent crops Non-standard agiculture Recreational Terrain Rocky Sandy 1
3
Water system Water bodies Wetlands Power Plants Fossil Fueled Thermoelectric Hydroelectric Renewable source Wastewater Treament Plant Electricity Stations Stations Sub-stations Power Lines Major Secondary Minor Hydraulic risk Flood areas Lowlands
2
4
Natura 2000 National Park Protected Area Important Bird Area
Built Surface Industrial Site Industrial Zone Railway Water
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
the mere efficiency of engineering and planning. Multi-directionality refers to the elements or processes the infrastructure project is directed to. This is not exactly the ‘function’, but, rather, the idea that for any process to be properly contextualized and attributed meaning beyond the mere ‘backbone’ of our society, it has to be elaborated through a series of other processes. Finally, poly-functionality proposes that sturdy and concrete mono-functional infrastructure poses multiple issues through time, as well as through its embeddedness in space. A polyfunctional infrastructure project has the capacity to overcome traditional disturbances in space imposed by mono-functional infrastructure and, at the same time, address more objectives than one, making it able to withstand more changes occurring through time. A final preliminary remark has to do about ‘scale’ and ‘genealogies’. In all theories and methodologies described above the issue of ‘scale’ is treated as a central one. Most importantly, this pertains to the concept of ‘territory’. Territories are the methodological and epistemological tool used so as to surpass the traditional distinction between the ‘urban’ and the ‘rural’, highlighting the fact that the conditions for the continued existence of the urban lie in its relations to a much larger space from which it extracts its resources or through the manipulation of which it establishes itself and its means of operation. To approach spatial design through territories means to scale-up: it is the integration of a whole host of natural and anthropogenic processes that reveal themselves only through specific scales
Areal Bodies Linear Bodies Streams Waterways Rivers Canals Drainage Wetlands
Hydraulic Risk Areas Lowlands (5m Contour Lines)
5
Water Areal Bodies Linear Bodies Wetlands
6
Water Availability Very high High Moderate Low Very low Water Management Purifiers Storage Weirs Dams Wastewater Treatment Plants Waterworks Mechanical Drainage
Water Permeability Low Relatively low Relatively high High Very high 7
Springs Points Area
8
Figures
5 Hydrographic System 6 Hydraulic Risk 7 Water Availability/ Water Management 8 Water Permeability/ Springs 9 Central Veneto Proposal Scheme
Frame of reference Grid
Central Veneto 5km
rd
n lai tp low
er
we
dams responding to soil conditions and flood risk
up pe
weirs capitalizing on the topography
ry
pla
in
9
Energy Production Water Permeability High Low Industry & Manufacturing Concetration Industry & Manufacturing Concetration Very high High Moderate Low Very low
9
Strengthened Ecological structure Ecological structure Water
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
and, thus, call for a trans-scalar approach. Finally, and in line with the previous concepts on infrastructure, the notion of ‘genealogies’ permits the planning and design of the infrastructure project to take as many different and distinct forms as required by the site: the logic lies in identifying a series of design solutions that are deployed selectively throughout the space in question.
Figures
Having said that, this research and design project sought to, first, understand the ecological structure that conditions Central Veneto’s form and function, focusing on exploring ways to strengthen this structure where it is deemed important. Furthermore, the hydrographic system is explored both through its construction and its inherent characteristics pertaining to its relationship with the subsurface of the site, and through its deficiencies in the face of climate change. Finally, since the central theme of this research and design project is the production and distribution of energy, the main energy system as well as the main elements of urbanization and economy were also put under the microscope. The results of this analysis are shown in Figures 1-8 while, the outcome, a scheme for the development of the energy project at this scale is explored in Figure 9. Briefly explained, this is the understanding that different water management techniques have to be employed so as to capitalize on the potential of hydroelectric power generation: soil conditions, topography and hydraulic risk impose these two different mechanisms. On the one hand, a system of weirs capitalizing on the incremental changes in elevation and, on the
11 Main Mobility Network 12 Railway Stations Buffer Zones 13 Hydraulic Risk Areas/ Lowlands/ Built Surface/ Mobility Network Frame of reference Grid
Built Surface Industrial Site Industrial Zone Railway Water
Mobility Network Railway Motorway Primary Secondary Tertiary
10
11
Hydraulic Risk Areas Lowlands (5m Contour Lines)
Railway Station Buffers 2km 5km Mobility Network Railway Motorway Primary Secondary Tertiary Built Surface Water Wetlands
Built Surface Water Wetlands
Mobility Network Railway Motorway Primary Secondary Tertiary
12
Built Surface Water Wetlands
13
10 Built Surface/ Industry & Manufacturing Zones & Sites/Railway Network
Venice Metropolitan Area 5km
11
other, a system of dams that operate through water retention.
14 Pollution/NOx levels
Figures
Arriving at the scale of the ‘città diffusa’, a different set of elements were put under question, this time mostly pertaining to environmental degradation conditions and unused or under-utilized infrastructure. Similar to the previous scale, the urbanization patterns, the existing mobility infrastructure and the hydraulic risk of the site were analyzed. All these are depicted in Figures 10-21.
15 Nitrogen Percolation Risk 16 Insecticide used on Corn Percolation Risk 17 Insecticide used on Vine Pecolation Risk Venice Metropolitan Area 5km
14
16
Furthermore, the concentrations of industrial and manufacturing functions through the region pose a unique possibility for the localization of the various elements of the new energy system. Acting as new ‘pores’ (Viganò, 2009), they will pose as the new ‘significant places’ in the elaboration of the proposed energy system.
Frame of reference
Contrary to that though, the issue that arose here was the elaboration of mechanisms and devices that could also tackle contamination and pollution all the while capitalizing on the previously analyzed site conditions and putting forward a second layer of potential pores: the overlay of concentrations of industrial and manufacturing functions on the basis of the stations of the railroad system are related to concentrations of environmental degradation and the field of unused and under-utilized infrastructure. The scheme depicted in Figure 22 provides an overview of these conclusions. Finally, through both these explorations, a potential site for the study of the implementation of
Grid
Very high High Moderate Low Very low
Very high High Moderate Low Very low
15
17
Very high High Moderate Low Very low
Very high High Moderate Low Very low
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Figures
the project was revealed: the Marzenego river basin. This site provides a unique space where most (if not all) the aforementioned elements can be tested at once.
18 Herbicide used on Maize Percolation Risk 19 Herbicide used on Maize Percolation Risk
Linking back to the referenced theories, projects and methodologies, this initial stage of this research and design project was aimed at reconciling the objective of the planning and design of a new energy system with the natural and anthropogenic conditions of the site in question. The results can be briefly described as: 1. Energy production through capitalizing on the existing patterns of infrastructure of mobility and hydraulics, 2. Special focus on the subsurface qualities of water permeability and availability, 3. Elaboration of new pores on the basis of the existing railroad network and the concentrations of environmental degradation, 4. Re-cycling of existing unused and/or under-utilized infrastructure and, finally, 5. Contextualization based on the diffused and dispersed nature of the site’s appropriation.
20 Contaminated Sites and Remediation Activities 21 Inactive Quarries/ Landfills/ Brownfields 22 Venice Metropolitan Area Proposal Scheme Frame of reference Grid
Very high High Moderate Low Very low
Contaminated Site
18
20
Very high High Moderate Low Very low
Inactive Quarries Brownfields Landfills
19
21
Venice Metropolitan Area 5km
13
channelization & phytoremediation
channelization and infiltration through phytoremediation
infiltration
programmed flooding & phytoremediation
programmed flooding and infiltration through phytoremediation
infiltration
Field of unused/ underutilized infrastructure Energy Production Railwroad Stations 2km Buffer Industry & Manufacturing Functions Environmental Degradation Concentration Very high High Moderate Low Very low Strengthened Ecological structure 22
Water
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Spatial Design: This research and design project concerns the planning and implementation of a new energy system in the central Veneto. The implementation of a new infrastructural project is conceived on the basis of its contextuality in respect to the conditions of the site. Such conditions include the actual patterns of territorialization and urbanization, the conditions of the ground and its implications for the appropriation of the surface, environmental data and potential challenges and/or risks. Special emphasis has been given to the public nature and character of the proposed energy system. Moreover, the proposal attempts to re-cycle existing unused and/or under-utilized infrastructure. The aims and objectives concern both the provision of energy autonomy to a network of manufacturing and logistics hubs dispersed throughout the region, as well as augmenting the environmental qualities of the various landscapes within the region. The proposed infrastructural project consists of multiple interventions: a regional reforestation project for the production of biomass, water management devices and mechanisms for the production of hydroelectric power, the employment of phytoremediation techniques for the mitigation of environmental degradation, water management devices and mechanisms that respond to potential hydraulic risk, the re-cycling of existing infrastructure, the re-appropriation of existing infrastructure on the basis of conditioning the required raw materials for the energy system and, finally, the deployment of a series of energy production hubs in sites that lie at the crossroads of the majority of the aforementioned criteria. The area in question is at the interface of Porto Marghera and central Veneto. Otherwise referred to as ‘città diffusa’, the Metropolitan Area of Venice provides a complex context that, nevertheless, creates the possibilities for a contextual energy system in order to promote decentralization and distribution of energy (the current scheme is largely centralized), addressing environmental concerns, and, at the same time, propose a new project of urbanization. The project is characterized by a ‘territorialization’ approach, that is, an approach that seeks to provide a new backbone for further appropriation of the space. The part that reflects this ‘territorialization’ to the highest degree, and is, thus, the first to be implemented, is the manipulation of the hydrographic system. After that, a regional reforestation project can take place and, finally, the architecture of the individual hubs and their immaterial networks can be realized. The implementation of this project is perceived to be able to aid in the advancement of the, already, dispersed/diffused territorial economy of the region. Focusing on further establishing conditions of dispersion and diffusion, the proposed decentralized-distributed energy system is set to promote an even more flattened territorial economy, hence, to contribute in the continued progress of the territorial project of the Veneto region by responding to changes that have occurred in the regional and national economy these past few years.
15
23 Overall Proposal
Figure
Central Veneto 5km
23
Frame of reference Grid
Energy Production
Railwroad Station
Hub Energy Autonomy Zone
Railwroad Network
Hub Energy Autonomy Secondary Zone Industry & Manufacturing Functions
Strengthened Ecological structure Water
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructure Ecologies and Forms of Life Figures Weirs Dams Energy Production Hub Energy Autonomy Zone Hub Energy Autonomy Secondary Zone
24
Industry & Manufacturing Functions Railroad Station Railwroad Network Motorways Primary Roads Water
24 Overall Proposal
Secondary Roads
25 Exploded Axonometric of the SubSystems of the Overall Proposal
Tertiary Roads Riparian Zone Territorial Programmed Flooding Rooms Marzenego River
Frame of reference Grid
Venice Metropolitan Area 5km
17
Hub Network
Marzenego River Basin Water Management and Hydroelectric Power Generation Project
Reforestatiom Project 25
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Network Figures
Following Christopher Alexander’s (2015) elaborations on network systems, the proposed energy system is planned as a decentralized and distributed network of autonomous hubs operating in unison. Unplanned events are brought into the equation, as in the event of surplus of energy the hubs are proposed to exchange power, in the event of energy deficit the energy production capacity of Porto Marghera is called forth to aid in the process (the existing energy infrastructure and the sheer scale of Porto Marghera are utilized as a ‘failsafe’).
26 Autonomus Energy Production Hubs 27 Distribution of Surplus Energy 28 Porto Marghera involvement in case of Energy Deficit 29 Complete Decentralized and Distributed Network
Frame of reference Grid
26
27
28
29
Venice Metropolitan Area 5km
19
Aims and Objectives of the Research & Design Project The aim of this research and design project is the planning and design of an energy system to aid in the energy autonomy of manufacturing and logistics hubs deployed through central Veneto. Special emphasis is ascribed to the multi-directionality of the project. Expressed in Figure, this means that the proposed energy system is perceived from more than one perspective.
30 Multidirectionality
Figure
Furthermore, the project follows a brief genealogical process (see Figure): the aims and the final elaborated mechanisms and devices tackling them are conceived as part of a logical procedure aimed at identifying diverse means of reaching the desired objective. These operate through
heritage re-use
productive landscapes
environmental degradation mitigation
hydraulic - geological risk response
Energy Production & Distribution System
re-appropriate existing infrastructure landscape
higher environmental quality environments
communal - public character 30
energy autonomy
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
a set of criteria that are based on the project’s requirement at addressing a multitude of objectives at once, relating the production of energy with mitigating environmental issues and providing quality public environments. Finally, the directionalities and the genealogies are intertwined in a single scheme that emphasizes their mutual interrelations and the operative objective for an energy system that focuses on public character.
Focus
Flattend Urban Economies Energy Transition Diffusion Autonomy
Programme
Mobility Energy Production/ Distribution Communal/Public Space Green-Blue Infrastructure
31
Type
Figures
31 Project genealogies
Action
Networking New Development
Augmenting
Re-Cycling
Adapting Framing
21
Mechanism
Multifunctional Device
Criterion
Green-Blue Ecological Structure Energy System Mobility System Agricultural Corridors
Riparian Area Augmentation Regional Reforestation Urban Agrarian Communal/Public Energy Production Hubs Water Management
Riparian Corridors
Industry-Manufacturing Concentration
Peri-Urban Corridors
Climate Change/ Flood Risk
Urban Corridors
Soil Permeability Pollution
Communal/Public Bio-Energy Production Hubs Hydroelectric Power Generation
Infrastructure Re-Cycling
Contamination Percolation LandďŹ lls Quarries BrownďŹ elds Mobility Network Hydrographic System
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Figures
32 Multidirectionality/ Multifunctionality/ contectuality/ genealogies
agriculture
productive landscapes
bio-energy
farming
bio-energy hubs
heritage re-use regional reforestation
environmental degradation mitigation
public space
hydraulic - geological risk response hydraulic risk dams hydroelectric power weirs
communal - public character energy autonomy 32
soil qualities topography
23
unused/ under-utilized indrastructure
agriculture corridors
mobility network
agrarian landscapes
riparian corridors
hydrographic system
urban landscapes
sub-/peri-urban corridors urban corridors
riparian zone augmentation
‘room for the river’ programmed flooding dike system
territorial floodplains (territorial programmed flooding rooms) existing hydrographic system
ditch network augmentation
subterranean waterstreams
above-ground watestreams re-direction
re-appropriate existing infratructure landscape
environmental degradation mitigation
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
The implementation of the project begins with the construction of the proposed water management devices and the corresponding hydroelectric power generation mechanisms
Phase 1: Year 30
33
Water Management Devices
During the second phase, the reforestation part of the project along the infrastructural lines of the hydrographic and mobility systems takes place.
Phase 2: Year 60
34
Regional Reforesstation
Phasing of the project
Figures The final step of the process is the architectural construction of the individual hubs. At this stage, the hubs and their system are fully operational.
34 Phase 2: Year 60 35 Phase 3: Year 70 Frame of reference
Phase 3: Year 70 Hub Operation
33 Phase 1: Year 30
35 Grid
Venice Metropolitan Area 5km
25
Phasing of the Project and Expected Results and Effects
36 Areas of Intervention and Effects
Figure
The phasing of the project takes into account the demands of the distinct landscape infrastructural elements that it is comprised of and attempts to establish a sequence of events that would, ultimately, lead to its complete implementation. Furthermore, it takes into account the other two (2) infrastructural projects that, together with this, form the complete vision for the Metropolitan Area of Venice.
infrastructure
ecology urban fabric
areas of intervention and effects
regional economy
energy risk management 36
public space
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
The effects of this research and design project are assessed on the basis of the areas outlined in Figure 36. The argumentation behind this further elaboration on the implementation of the project is that, aside from the logical course of projects imposed by their respective prerequisites, the whole project has to correspond to specific territorial constituents. Thus, the phasing is reformulated so as to incorporate the elaboration of both the sequencing of its elements based on their demands and the effects that they entail in respect to the territorial conditions (see Figure 37).
Figures
37 Phasing/ Spatial Interventions/ Infrastructural Space/Areas of Intervention and Effects
- year 30
above ground waterstreams re-direction ditch network augmentation riparian zone augmentation territorial programmed flooding plains
infrastructure
river section alteration new dike system weir construction dam construction water infiltration soil remediation
ecology
infiltration phytoremediation
urbanization along a territorial water management project
urban fabric
regional economy
energy
multifun
planting
air purif
refores
urbaniz
higher land and resource value attractive environment for economic development R&D tourism
hydroelectric energy
bio-ene
hydraulic risk heat mitigation
risk management
‘room for the river’ programmed flooding dike system improvement territorial public space waterfront improvement
37
public space
public space augmentation
refores
green-b
nctional green-blue corridors
g
fication
station
zation along a territorial reforestation project
ergy
27
- year 60
- year 70
energy hub construction and operation energy system construction and operation
renewable energy production
energy hub/system construction and operation
axial urbanization along the environmental mechanism and energy hub duality diffuse urbanization along new territorial energy project
energy autonomy and reduction of costs strengthening of regional manufacturing promotion of creative industries
energy autonomy
station
blue corridors collective-communal hub
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Restructuring the ‘Cttà Diffusa’ (territorialization and urbanization) Approaching the infrastructural project as the backbone of urbanization and, at the same time, bringing it to the foreground by imbuing it with qualities of the everyday life, the final objective is for the proposed system to function as a trigger for further urbanization and appropriation of the land. The existing order is first disturbed be the implementation of the environmental devices and
Figures
Frame of reference
existing situation 38
environmental devices and mechanisms
38 Stages in the project’s effects on the urbanization of the area Città Diffusa (abstraction)
29
mechanisms. The operation of the hub creates a link between the two and their connection becomes the next infrastructural stratification that would shoulder the next stage in the habitation of the Veneto region. The nature of urbanization that already characterizes the area, ‘diffuse urbanization’ or ‘dispersed territory’ finds its conditions to the hydraulic rationalization of the land in order to house agricultural activities. The proposed step provides a new rationalization scheme to promote a similar diffused/dispersed appropriation.
operational hub
new wave of urbanization
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Stakeholder Analysis A project of this scale requires a systematic evaluation of the various people, groups and organizations involved in its implementation, as well as their respective interconnections and interdependencies. Somewhat atypical of usual stakeholder analyses, the project approaches the issue through eight (8) distinct lenses outlined in Figure 39. The reasoning behind this decision lies in the relative need both for increased collaboration and for specific actions that may arise through the implementation of the project. After establishing the different elements integral to the stakeholder coordination, the first step is to elaborate a scheme that corelates the level of participation with specific (albeit, in their general sense) actions potential stakeholders may perform. Exemplified in Figure
type of participation
Figures
39 Stakeholder Analysis Criteria 40 Levels of Satkeholder Participation and Specific Stakeholder Actions
sector
power - interests
level of participation
Stakeholder Analysis
involvement - influence
phasing
39
contracts
goals
31
40, this first step outlines two (2) levels of participation, a primary one that involves actual decision making, planning and design and implementation, and a secondary one that involves the establishment of background frameworks necessary for the success of the overall project. Within the elaboration of a scheme for stakeholder participation, it is necessary to define them closely. For a project of this scale, importance and general outcomes and effects, the need for as wide a list of potential collaborators as possible arises. In this sense, the general schema of the three (3) sectors of societal participation is used together with the previously outlined correlation between the level of participation and the various distinct actions. It is important to note that for a
Primary Participatory Framework (active participation)
funding consultation expertise administrative framework planning & design implementation participatory decision-making 40
Secondary Participatory Framework
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
project such as this, the participation of multiple agencies within and outside of the territory in question (even those with no direct authority on it) is deemed crucial. That is both for financial reasons as well as for transferring expertise and, finally, establishing as much an attractive territorial environment as possible. Going further, the private sector and civil society showcase degrees of overlap. This occurs due to the different capacities that members of both can take up on within the implementation of the project; namely, whether or not they participate as citizens or affected individuals or as professionals that have monetary benefits as well (e.g. as contractors, hired
Figures
41 Stakeholders per sector
Public Sector (surpa national level) - European Union
- European Committee of the Regions
- European Environment Agency
- European Investment Bank
- United Nations
- European Institute of Innovation and Technology
- UNHabitat
- Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators
- Food and Agriculture Organization
- Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
- Economic and Social Council
- Innovation & Networks Executive Agency
- Unesco
- Fusion for Energy
- European Research Council Executive Agency
- Research Executive Agency
- other supra-national entities
(national level) Direct Authority (specialized national institutions)
Indirect Authority
- Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport
- Ministry of Education, Universities and Research
- Ministry of Environment, Protection of Land and Sea
- Ministry of Regional Affairs and Autonomies
- Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies
- Ministry of Parliamentary Relations and Direct Democracy
- Ministry of Economic Development
- Ministry of Public Administration
- Ministry of Economy and Finance
- Ministry of the Interior
- Ministry of Heritage and Cultural Activities
- Ministry of Defence - Ministry of European Affairs - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(regional, provincial, municipal and local level level)
- Regional Authority
(primary participation)
- General Secretariat of Programming
(secondary participation)
- Economic Development Sector
- Regional Commission for Strategic Environmental Assessment
- Core Evaluation and Perification of Public Investments
- Interregional Observatory Cooperation Development
- Regional Observatory on the Housing Condition
- Soil Regional Observatory
- Air Observatory
- Sector of Human Capital, Culture and Community Planning
- Sector of Protection and Development of the Territory
- Instrumental Resources Sector
41
- Planning and strategic development Sector
- Offices of Civil and Forestry Engineering
33
professionals or employees). Irrespective of this, however, the main distinction remains between those that seek to participate in order to gain economic benefits and those who participate because the project affects their everyday lives either directly or indirectly. The analysis continues with the identification of the level of power, interests, influence and involvement within the project. Again, atypical of usual stakeholder analyses, instead of just defining the levels of power and interests, the project takes into account their influence and overall involvement in a potential territorial project of this nature. The reason for this deviation from the conventional type of stakeholder analyses is the acknowledgment of the fact that the power-interests scheme does not take into account stakeholders who are involved in such projects without having either an expressed interest in it or a clearly defined level of authority (e.g. public institutions that partake in the elaboration of such projects).
- Regional Observatory Planning
- Regional Observatory for the Landscape
- Regional Observatory on Environmental Behavior and Education
- Regional Agency for Environmental Preservation and Protection
- Local Energy Providers and Operators
- Local Water Authorities
- Port Authority - Provinces of Venezia, Trevizo, Padua and Vicenza (and their corresponding offices)
- Universities, Research Centres and Knowledge Insitutions
- Municipalities of the above provinces
- other local authorities
(and their corresponding offices)
Private Sector - investors
- consultants
- designers
- farmers
- project groups
- industry
- institutions
- developers
- freelancers
- insurance companies
- engineers
- ecologists
Civil Society - citizens
- designers
- citizens’ associations
- project groups
- affected
- institutions
- leisure
- freelancers
- culture
- engineers
- landowners
- NGOs
- farmers
- future generations
- ecologists
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Figures
Finally, the stakeholder analysis attempts to identify the different goals the involved stakeholders may have. In this case, the distinction is, once again, between sectors. The argument behind this is elaborated in the final Figure 44, where the concept of ‘social contracts’ is showcased. The whole project operates under the assumption that the different stakeholders have to enter a state of ‘give-and-take’ between themselves, establishing both relations of mutual benefit, on the one hand, and, on the other, mutual responsibilities.
42 PowerInterest/ InfluenceInvolvement Analysis 43 Stakeholder Goals per sector
power
influence
44 Stakeholder Contracts
convince inform
42
key actors
inform
empower
monitor
manage satisfy
interests
involvement
Goals Public Sector
Private Sector
- ecological quality
- revenues
- enjoyment of the territory
- sustainable energy
- higher resource value
- ecological quality
- risk mitigation
- attractive economic environment
- active participation in territorial development
- economic development
- active role in territorial development
- protection from risk
- public satisfaction - enjoyment of the territory 43
- citizen participation - policy integration
Civil Society
35
funding economic & financial incentives for development general goal framework expertise
Public Sector
general plan
Private Sector
implementation participation social contract involvement revenues, value & job opportunities
funding work force involvement revenues, value & job opportunities
Private Sector
participation social contract
Civil Society
general goal framework expertise needs & desires implementation
needs & desires implementation general goal framework
Public Sector
expertise participation social contract
44
involvement value & job opportunities
Civil Society
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
45
Hydrographic System Areal Bodies Linear Podies Marzenego River 46
Hydraulic Risk
Vegetation Arboreal Shrubby/ Herbaceous Stunted Grasslands Permanent crops Non-standard agiculture Recreational
Terrain Rocky Sandy Water system Water bodies Wetlands Marzenego River
47
Built Surface Unused/ Underutilized Infrastructure Railway Marzenego River
Implementation Study
48 Figures
Water
45 Slope 46 Hydrographic System 47 Ecological Srructure 48 Unused/ Under-utilized Infrastructure
Built Surface Industrial Site Industrial Zone Railway Marzenego River Water
49 Concentrations of Industry & Manufacturing Functions Frame of reference 49
0
5
Marzenego River basin 10
20km
37
50
51
Implementation Study 50 Agrarian Landscapes
Figures
51 Urban Landscapes Marzenego River basin 0
5
Frame of reference 10
20km
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Figures 52 Hydroelectric Power Generation Scheme
Landscape Infrastructure Elements (schematic sections)
53 Water Managements Elements and Inter-relations 54 Remediation and Public Space Scheme 55 Quarries Reappropriation Scheme 56 Landfills Reappropriation Scheme 57 Reforestation Project Scheme
The hydroelectric energy production project operates through the site’s section, leveraging on its topography and is comprised of a series of weirs (high plain) and a series of dams (lower plain)
The territorial project operates under a framework of collaboration between different water management devices and mechanisms that, in unison, regulate the influx and discharge of water, while channeling it through remediation processes
The various mechanisms and devices designed to tackle flood risk (riparian zone augmentation, ditch network augmentation and territorial flooding plains) are conceived of as both public spaces and remediation devices for the contaminated soil as well as for the polluted water streams
52
53
54
39
55
Integral to the territorial project is the reappropriation of existing unused or under-utilized infrastructure. Now defunct. previously operating quarries become part of the water management and remediation process, as well as a new public space typology scattered across the territory
Similar to mining quarries, the project incorporates existing landfill locations as parts of the regional project of energy production, public space augmentation and risk mitigation 56
57
Complementary to the water management mechanism and devices and crucial for the goal of energy production, public space augmentation and risk mitigation, the regional reforestation project operates through all different territorial actions
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Figures 58 Marzenego River 59 Riparian Zone/ Programmed Flooding 60 Territorial Rooms/ Programmed Flooding/
Water Management Devices and Mechanisms
61 Marzenego River Basin Grid
Marzenego River
58
Taking into account ownership status, existing structures and the existing mobility and hydrographic system, the augmentation of the river’s riparian zone is proposed as a 1st line of programmed flooding
Riparian Zone 1st line of programmed flooding
59
Through the exploitation of the site’s topography and the existing canal system, a project of establishing territorial rooms for programmed flooding is proposed
Territorial Programmed Flooding Rooms 2nd line of programmed flooding
60
5km
41
62 Riparian Zone/ Programmed Flooding
Figures
63 Territorial Rooms/ Programmed Flooding 64 Marzenego River 65 Riparian Zone Dikes 66 Territorial Rooms Dikes 5km
Grid
61
64
62
65
63
66
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Figures
68 Riparian Corridor
Multifunctional Green - Blue Corridors Frame of reference
Agrarian Corridors Agriculture Corridor enhancement of the existing ditch netwrok green - blue corridor agriculture
reeds for phytoremediation
67
67 Agriculture Corridor
reforestation for biomass production
programmed flooding
Nano Scale/ Typology
43
Agrarian Corridors Riparian Corridor augmentation of the riparian zone green - blue corridor recreational space
programmed flooding
68
reeds for phytoremediation reforestation for biomass production
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Figures
69 Sub-/ Peri-Urban Corridor 70 Urban Corridor
Frame of reference
Urban Corridors Sub-/Peri-Urban Corridor
enhancement of the existing ditch netwrok green - blue corridor
reeds for phytoremediation
69
reforestation for biomass production
Nano Scale/ Typology
45
Agrarian Corridors Urban Corridor enhancement of the existing ditch netwrok
green - blue corridor
70
reeds for phytoremediation reforestation for biomass production
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life Implementation Study
Figures
Frame of reference
Marzenego River Basin Energy System 0
Weirs Dams Energy Production Hub Energy Autonomy Zone Riparian Zone Territorial Programmed Flooding Rooms Marzenego River Water
71
5
10
71 Marzenego River Basin Energy System Marzenego River Basin 20km
47
System Metabolism
Figures
hub
residences industrial/ manufacturing industries zone agriculture
electricity/ heat
electricity electricity
energy hub
weirs reeds for trees for the phytoremediation reforestation project farming waste
72
secondary energy source
agriculture waste
agro-food & farming zone
electricity
biomass
fermentation/digestion
biomass
fertilizer
biogas
electricity grid
primary energy source
collection/storage
72 System Metabolism
dams
farming
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Figures 73 Example Site 74 Hub Area Example 75 Peri-urban Area Example
Example Site
76 Riparian Area/ Quarry Site Example
73
49
- energy production - distribution hub - enhancement of the existing ditch network - phytoremediation - reforestation - green - blue corridors
74
- enhancement of the existing ditch network - phytoremediation - reforestation - green - blue corridors
75
- riparian zone augmentation - existing unused/under-utilized infrastructure (quarry) re-appropriation - reforestation project - flood risk management - phytoremediation 76
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Hub Typology Integral element to the whole energy system, the individual energy production and distribution hub is deployed throughout the territory, following the criteria set out previously. Function-wise, it is the singularity where both the bio-energy and the hydroelectric power converge and then disperse towards the productive vicinity.
Figures
The primary goal of this device is the provision of energy autonomy for the manufacturing and logistics hubs of the complete system. It is conceived as both a storage facility for the
78 Energy Hub Representation Frame of reference
Movable Workshop Assembling zone Package & distribution zone Industrial area Manufacturing flow
77
Storage zone Package zone Distribution zone Farmland Agriculture flow Storage zone Public space Energy production zone Biomass farming Biomass flow Biomass storage zone
77 Energy Hub Typology
Energy Hub
51
various biomass products, as a bio-energy production infrastructure, as an energy distribution facility and as a publicly accessible significant place, furthering the goal of a public oriented energy system. The immediate productive area is set to be able to take advantage of the hub’s energy qualities in further promoting urbanization.
78
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Impression Figures 79 Impression/ View toward Martellago
(view toward Martellago) riparian zone
79
pedestrian bridge
weir
53
territorial floodplain
remediation
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Remediation Figures 79 Remediation Techniques
phytovolatilization absorption of contaminants from the soil and releasing them in volatile form through transpipration
phytoextraction removal of toxic contaminants from the air
phytodegradation breakdown of contaminants
phytoextraction
rhizodegradation
removal of toxic contaminants from the soil
breakdown of contaminant through microbes in the roots
rhizofiltration filtering or the water
phytostabilazation reduction of heavy and/ or toxic contaminants’ mobility through the soil
phytodegradation breakdown of contaminants
55
References Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione e Protezione Ambientale del Veneto. (2018, 07 07). Retrieved from Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione e Protezione Ambientale del Veneto Website: http://www.arpa.veneto.it/ ANGUILLARI, E. (2013). Vento 2100: Living with water. Living Landscapes - Landscapes for living. Paesaggi Abitati: Conference Proceedings. Florence: Planum. The Journal of Urbanism. Bélanger, P. (2013). Pierre Bélanger: Landscape Infrastructure: Urbanism beyond Engineering. Wageningen: Wageningen University and Research. Caravello, G. U., & Michieletto, P. (1999). Cultural Landscape: Trace Yesterday, Presence Today, Perspective Tomorrow for “Roman Centuriation” in Rural Venetial Territory. Research in Human Ecology, 26(2), 45-50. European Commission. (2018, 05 29). Veneto. Retrieved 06 30, 2018, from GROWTH: Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/ regional-innovation-monitor/base-profile/veneto European Environment Agency. (2018, 07 07). Retrieved from European Environment Agency Website: https://www.eea.europa.eu/ Fabian, L. (2012). Extreme Cities and Isotropic Territories: Scenarios and Projects from the Environmental Emergency of the Central Veneto Citta DIffusa. Journal Disaster Risk Science, 3(1), 11-22. doi:10.1007/s13753-012-0003-5 Grulois, G., Tosi, M. C., & Crosas, C. (Eds.). (2018). Designing Territorial Metabolism. Berlin: jovis Verlag Gmbh. Infrastruttura dei Dati Territoriali del Veneto. (2018, 07 07). Retrieved from Infrastruttura dei Dati Territoriali del Veneto Website: http://idt.regione.veneto.it/app/metacatalog/ Lafleur, F. (2016). Re-Territorialization: A vision for Milan Urban region (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A02d0f2b0-f9b6-403381a7-669fa9beb478?collection=education OSMaxx. (2018, 07 07). Retrieved from OSMaxx: https://osmaxx.hsr.ch/ Regione del Veneto. (n.d.). Retrieved from Regione del Veneto Website: http://www.regione. veneto.it/web/guest Regione del Veneto, U.O. Sistema Statistico Regionale. (2017). Rapporto Statistico 2017: Il Veneto si racconta, il Veneto si confronta. Venezia: Regione del Veneto, U.O. Sistema Statistico Regionale. Renzoni, C. (2017). Water and asphalt. The Project of Isotropy in the metropolitan Region of Venice. (M. Hebbert, Ed.) Planning Perspectives, 32(2), 302-303. Renzoni, C., & Tosi, M. C. (2018). Genealogies of the Ecological Issues on the Italian Discourse on Citta Diffusa: Territories and Debates. In M. C. Geoffrey Grolois (Ed.), Designing Territorial Metabolism (pp. 71-85). Berlin: jovis Gmbh.
2017—2018 IED Infrastructure and Environment Design Infrastructural Ecologies and Forms of Life
Universita Iuav di Venezia. (2012). Recycling CIty: Lifecycles, Embodied Energy, Inclusion. Venezia: Universita Iuav di Venezia. Universita Iuav di Venezia. (2013). Reycling CIty 2: Energy, Recycling and the DIffuse City. Venezia: Universita Iuav di Venezia. Vanore, M. (2010). Cultural infrastructures in Veneto. Earth and water pathways in the landscapes of the arceaology. In R. Amoeda, S. Lira, & C. Pinheiro (Ed.), Heritage 2010 – 2nd International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development (pp. 641-650). Évora: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development. Viganò, P. (2009). The Metropolis of the Twenty-First Century. The Project of a Porous City. OASE, 80, 91-107. Retrieved from https://www.oasejournal.nl/en/Issues/80/ TheMetropolisOfTheTwenty-FirstCentury Vigano, P., & Fabian, L. (Eds.). (2010). Extreme CIty: Climate Change and the Transformation of the Waterscape. Venezia: Universita Iuav di Venezia. Vigano, P., Fabian, L., & Gianotti, E. (Eds.). (2012). Recycling City: Lifecycles, Embodied Energy, Inclusion. Pordenone: Giavedoni Editore. Vigano, P., Secchi, B., & Fabian, L. (Eds.). (2016). Water and Asphalt: The Project of Isotropy. Zurich: Park Books.
all drawings are elaborated by the author
Sources: Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione e Protezione Ambientale del Veneto. (2018, 07 07). Retrieved from Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione e Protezione Ambientale del Veneto Website: http://www.arpa.veneto.it/ European Environment Agency. (2018, 07 07). Retrieved from European Environment Agency Website: https://www.eea.europa.eu/ Infrastruttura dei Dati Territoriali del Veneto. (2018, 07 07). Retrieved from Infrastruttura dei Dati Territoriali del Veneto Website: http://idt.regione.veneto.it/app/metacatalog/ OSMaxx. (2018, 07 07). Retrieved from OSMaxx: https://osmaxx.hsr.ch/ Regione del Veneto. (n.d.). Retrieved from Regione del Veneto Website: http://www.regione. veneto.it/web/guest