Abstract

‘Ripple’ is a project about Sydney’s relationship with water.

Inspired by patterns generated by ink floating and swirling in water, it proposes a new riverside swimming facility at Sydney Olympic Park that engages with the climate change-related wicked problem of the urban heat island effect, and the ongoing challenge of pollution in the Parramatta River.

Humans’ relationship and perceptions of the Parramatta River have shifted over time. Before European settlement of Australia, the river was revered by the indigenous Wann-gal people as a spiritual entity and source of food, tradition and dreaming. Whilst early settlers marvelled at the river’s beauty, capturing it in paintings and building riverside garden estates, it was soon taken advantage of, degraded and polluted as Sydney urbanised and industrialised throughout the 20th century. In the 1990s, as Sydney prepared to host the 2000 Olympics, attention shifted once again to the river and it’s foreshore’s ecological, cultural and economic value, and efforts to remediate the contaminated water and foreshore lands began.

Today, the looming threat of climate change raises questions about the environmental and social sustainability of cities, their vulnerabilities and relationship to key natural resources. Addressing these vulnerabilities is key to working towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the goals of ‘Good Health & Wellbeing’, ‘Reduced Inequalities’, ‘Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’ and ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities.’

In Sydney, the urban heat island effect is a key example of a climate-change related challenge contributing to spatial inequality; as average temperatures rise and heatwaves become more frequent and extreme, Western Sydney is disproportinately affected. Parks and water bodies such as Sydney Olympic Park and the Parramatta River will play increasingly critical roles as places of cooling and recreation.

Building on the history of swimming areas along the Parramatta River, this project proposes a staged approach towards the rehabilitation of the Blaxland Riverside Park into a swimming and recreation facility. The project aims to apply principles and technologies of sustainable water-sensitive urban design to deal with the challenges of contamination & stormwater runoff with the long-term goal, in conjunction with other city-scale efforts, of improving water quality in the river until it is safe for swimming. Water sensitive urban design is tied into all aspects of the design, from the use of permable paving to stormwater collection and bioremediation and rainwater harvesting and reuse.

for swimming pools in an increasingly hotter Sydney but also counters the urban heat island effect in all aspects of its design - by increasing vegetation cover, strategic shading using white fabric shade structures, reducing hard surface cover, and enhancing proximity to water. As sea levels rise, more surface area of the concrete pool platform will become submerged by the river, cooling surface temperatures and reducing stored heat emitted from thermal mass.

The pool is designed as a long-term, low-tech and low maintenance alternative to other recreational proposals such as airconditioned indoor swim centres or energy-consuming artifical wave pools. The choice of resilient materials such as sandstone and concrete, the timeless appeal of swimming and relaxing in nature, and the low operational energy requirements make it a sustainable option both environmentally, socially and economically. Importantly, the pool is free to access and promotes a deeper community connection to, and investment in, the health and condition of the Parramatta River.

As a starting point for the design, the theme of water was explored through ink and water studies based on the ancient Japanese art of Suminagashi. These studies have allowed me to explore several properties of water including its movement, surface tension, reaction to foreign substances such as oil and surfectants, and reaction to turbulance and heat. These physical studies were approximated digitally using the Grasshopper plugin Kangaroo as parametric deformable circles that could grow and react to one another and external factors such as boundary lines, obstacles and ‘vortex’ vectors.

From these studies I developed a rule-based system that could be used to generate water-inspired topographies, structures and spatial layouts. At the master plan level, I used the Suminagashi Kangaroo script to create fluid interaction between each of the ‘zones’ I had designated. Then, zooming in to each zone, I applied the script in a variety of ways to generate a range of unique conditions - ranging from the chaotic, playful vortexes of the children’s pools to the undulating coral-like walls of the amenities building. This system allowed me to develop an interconnected, engaging landscape that responds specifically to the site, encourages exploration and celebrates the importance of water to the city.