TILTH & TANKS: ADAPTING ABANDONED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR HEALTH EQUITY IN THE ONION CREEK FLOODPLAIN

Andrew Lesmes (University of Texas - Graduate Level)

GENERAL DESIGN

“The residents of Dove Springs, many of whom live near or within the Lower Onion Creek floodplain in Southeast Austin, are particularly familiar with climate stressors and shocks; tree canopy inequity exacerbates the daily experience of extreme heat in Austin’s increasingly long summer heat waves, and devastating floods in 2013 and 2015 claimed several lives, destroyed hundreds of homes, and resulted in floodplain buyouts which displaced hundreds more residents. One of these buyout neighborhoods, Yarabee Bend, exists today as a suburban street network devoid of all but four occupied homes, its lots legible only by the curb aprons, canopy voids, and partially-removed rights-of-way that remain. Just northeast of Yarabee Bend, across William Cannon Drive, an abandoned wastewater treatment site sits above Onion and Williamson Creeks. Within this site, six decommissioned sedimentation tanks – each a 130-foot, perfect circle where spontaneous plant communities grow atop buried biosolids, – are striking remnants of a hastily-constructed city site operated for little more than two decades before being abandoned.

These remnant infrastructures present opportunities to promote health equity in the floodplain and strengthen human-soil relationships. Along Yarabee Bend’s former lot lines and roadways, new hybrid landscape types begins to restore floodplain functions and overlay a larger strategy of perennial crop experimentation within former residential lots; the circular, monumental tanks of the William Cannon wastewater site become an experiential garden sequence that re-interprets the history of abandoned infrastructure as community asset. “

BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT: RISING THROUGH THE ASHES

Anna Jenkins (Texas Tech University - Graduate Level)

GENERAL DESIGN

Bandelier National Monument is located near the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico. Established in 1916 as a National Monument, Bandelier has an incredibly rich history within the NPS. But the site’s history extends far beyond the origins of the NPS. Bandelier’s Frijoles Canyon was formed millions of years ago with volcanic tuff, and was home to one of the earliest recorded communities in North America, the Ancestral Pueblo. The site is extremely complex not only because of the archaeological significance but also the amount of human interaction over time in one location. The canyon has been touched by many significant events and time periods; it hosts structures from the 1700s all the way through the development of the atomic bomb in the 1950s.

Such a complex and layered history requires a delicate approach to preservation; however, it is even further complicated by environmental crises in the form of wildfires and climate change. There have been several devastating fires in Bandelier, destroying huge amounts of damage not only to the ecosystem but cultural artifacts as well. The intention of this project is to create a space that is responsive to not only environmental concerns but also a site’s historical and cultural complexity. Using a multidisciplinary approach, this project reinvigorates an aging trail system and visitor center while fortifying the landscape against disaster, all without sacrificing user experience --the essence of landscape design.

Nurture With Nature

Abimbola Olorode (Texas A&M University - Graduate Level)

GENERAL DESIGN

“Nature calmed me, focused me, and yet excited my senses,”” were the words Richard Louv used to describe his childhood experience with nature in his book “”The Last Child in the Woods,”” displaying the many benefits of being in a natural environment. Nurture with Nature uses that same ideology to design a nature-based learning environment for Alief Early Childhood Center in Houston, Texas. The design is a synthesis of innovative ideas utilizing evidence-based design strategies to improve early childhood development. It primarily draws from nature’s expressions (Texas Ecoregions) to inform programming and the elements and affordances required to nurture the cognitive, social, and physical domains of early childhood development. The goal is to offer a myriad of hands-on opportunities for creative exploration and outdoor teaching of STEM curriculum in a multicultural community.

Art And Design Quad Vision

Violet Lam (University of Texas at Arlington - Graduate Level)

URBAN DESIGN

The Art and Design Quad provides a resilient mall that features outdoor gathering spaces, performance and classroom facilities, and sustainable elements woven through the landscape. Through strategic placement of proposed buildings, a unique plaza featuring a color digital overhanging screen, and a linear water boulevard, a new entry experience is provided to both pedestrians entering the campus and drivers passing through on Cooper Street that bisects the campus. While surface parking is removed and replaced with a space-saving parking garage, impervious surfaces are added back to the site through a proposed Performing Arts Center, Digital Arts building, and Urban Design Lab building. Overall, the impervious surfaces on the site are reduced by 7% and the total amount of stormwater runoff is reduced from 327,438 gallons during a 2-year flood event to 210,709 gallons. The design targets the areas around the newly proposed buildings to capture runoff produced by the rooftops. Bioswales and raingardens divert water from around the buildings, and a large modular, underground detention basin trap and slowly release up 90,000 gallons of runoff produced by the Performing Arts Center and Digital Arts Building. The Urban Design Lab, which replaces the existing Nanotechnology building and Architecture Annex, features a series of terraced bioretention gardens that serve as the front ‘lawn’ and can intercept all runoff produced by the building in a 2-year storm event. The Cooper Garage features solar parking canopies on the top floor that not only collect up to 676 kilowatt hours per day, but also collect rainwater through gutters and channel water into two 15,000-gallon cisterns that store water for irrigation and greywater reuse on site. White roofs are suggested for all new buildings to reduce heat absorption in buildings, reducing air conditioning costs by up to 20% and reducing the Heat Island Effect on campus.

BRIDGING THE GAP; CREATING SYNERGY WITH NATURE THROUGH LINEAR DESIGN

Sean Robinson, Hannah Stalb, Jacob Marek, Tino Dean, Arturo Rodriguez(Texas A&M University- Undergraduate Level)

ANALYSIS & PLANNING

Throughout our work in Buffalo Gap Texas, we sought to utilize research-based design using GIS data and analysis in order to effectively create connections in Buffalo Gap, Texas using green spaces. During site visits and meetings with community stakeholders, we addressed the need to maintain the town’s identity throughout the design by using materiality and protecting the area’s live oak forest.

Using linear connections our team has created synergy with town identity, public health and safety, protection of wildlife, greenspaces, and biodiversity, as well as planning for growth and development. Our team’s research focused on datascapes and suitability analysis for the rural town of Buffalo Gap, Texas. To begin our research we created datascapes to analyze flood plains and land use in the region surrounding Buffalo Gap. The suitability analysis focused on how to best utilize and preserve the town’s pre-existing conditions by looking at tree canopy density, proximity to parks, endangered animals, and building density. Our team’s research determined that the site’s natural features would play a crucial role in informing design decisions for our overall concept.

Through evidence-based design, linear connections were created by integrating the natural landscape through nature and in biodiverse green spaces, low impact design, and an expansive trail system to promote active living, public health, and safety.