Thesis statement A park wedged along a river, industrial and residential area is the site for exploring the Anthropocene and postcolonial Australia. The thesis argues growth as a hybrid system that embraces notions of change, adaptation, and feedback to integrate biotic and abiotic elements in response to extreme precipitation events and potential inundation in the next 30 years. The design redefines the waterfront typology along the Maribyrnong river to form a stepping stone, connecting the fragmented habitat for wild precolonial nature. The strategy is restoring a robust habitat that uses the dynamic process of indigenous plant growth and river level variation during different seasons. The ambition lies in promoting the decolonization process in the context of multicultural suburban. The positive feedback loop between ecological and indigenous knowledge systems will be established with ecological succession and public awareness.
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Contents 1. Issue a. b. c. d.
flooding socio-economic ecology design goal
2. Site condition
a. landuse and dominant species b. site visit c. extreme hot summer- longer drought season d. surface water flow
3. Design exploration a. b. c. d. e.
detailed section precedent design strategy erosion analysis solution
4. Outcome a. b. c. d. e. f.
masterplan water level projection designed habitats vegetation seasonal succession seasonal view of six seasons on Country
6-9 10-11 12-13 14-15
16-19 20-21 22-23 24-25
26-29 30-31 32-33 34-35 36-37
38-39 40-41 42-43 44-45 46-47 48-63
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The Riverside Park is in Kensington, a
rn by ri Ma ver Ri on g SITE Middle-ring Local Government Area
Cit
Port Phillip Bay
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Location
at the edge of the City of Melbourne. 0
750
1500
3000m N
ty of Melbourne
Yarrra River
y
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Maribyrnong floodplain In recent a hundred years, there have been 27 recorded floods in the Maribyrnong area. The large floods occurring approximately every 10-20 years. The highest recorded flood affecting the Maribyrnong floodplain was in September 1906, and the next known highest was in May 1974.
1906 1916
1954 1974
2000 2011
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1. Issue: a. flooding
In the coming 30 years, Sea Level Rise and intensified precipitation in Melbourne will challenge this vulnerable riverside park.
Port Phillip Bay
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1. Issue: a. flooding
- The risk of flooding in the next 30 years. - extreme precipitation can change the soil condition and affect plants. - A more resilient waterfront habitat is needed. 9
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1. Issue:
b. socio-economic
- Because of COVID 19 and lockdown, People are more confined to their neighborhood, so the suburban parks need to take more responsibility. - The Complex demographic background in the 20-min neighborhood of the site shows the trend of multicultural settlement, which is covering the precolonial nature. 11
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1. Issue: c. ecology
- Urbanization is making bioregion more and more fragmented. site is supposed to be functioning as a wildlife corridor but has very limited biodiversity.
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Based on suburban context, the par hybrid system that can respond to lost spirit.
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1. Issue:
c. design goal
rk needs to be strengthened into a o climate change and retrieve the
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2. Site Condition:
a. landuse and dominate species
B
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The site wedges in residential areas, factories, and public open space.
A
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2. Site Condition:
a. landuse and dominate species
Suaeda and Tecticornia are dominaing the mashland, spreading on the ground with their horizontal stems.
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Eucalyptus camaldulensis is the dominate tree in this park, because it prefers deep moist subsoils with clay content.
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2. Site Condition: b. site visit
In this park, the most improtant impact on plant growth is wate
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er condition.
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2. Site Condition:
c. Extreme hot summer- longer drought season
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2. Site Condition: d. surface water flow
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Extended drought season indicates the need of a more responsive water harvesting system. Grasshopper was used for this water flow simulation.
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3. Design exploration: a. detailed section
We used detailed sections to explore how interventions will aff
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fect plant growth.
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3. Design exploration: a. detailed section
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3. Design exploration: b. precedent
Oyster-tecture - SCAPE BROOKLYN, NY
The result of Oyster-tecture is a cyborg landscape revealing and spatializing interdependent relationships between humans and non-humans and living and non-living things.
Changes in water levels bring diversity to the environment.
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This project has a similar context with Riverside Park. The thesis refers to how they combined infrastructures with oysters to strengthen the waterfront, considering plants and artificial structures.
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3. Design exploration: c. design strategy
The existing waterfront has very limited vegetation types, which means it hardly has ecological functions and becomes a habitat. Besides, the topography is vulnerable to flooding.
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The strategy is to transform the waterfront into a flood compensation area that has varied terrain. Different vegetation types will be zoned and planted in different areas according to hydrological conditions and the need of featured species.
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3. Design exploration: d. erosion analysis
Evidence indicates that an increased flow rate from rapid, significant rainfall events exacerbated by runoff can impact erosion in a watershed. Therefore the degree of erosion can be predicted by the river flow simulation. The testing model is a simplified version of this area, and the testing program is Autodesk CFD.
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In normal circumstances, the river flow rate on the outside of the curving river is large, and erosion is easy to occur. The transformation of the shape of the bank will disturb the river flow and reduce erosion, but erosion control is still needed.
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3. Design exploration: e. solution
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How to transform the vulnerable suburban park into a living system that is responsive to flooding and reflects the living indigenous wildness?
The answer is: !
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4. Outcome: a. master plan
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According to climate change projection, water level variation shows how the constructed waterfront can be resilient to flooding.
4. Outcome:
b. water level projection 40
climate change projection
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4. Outcome:
c. designed habitats
The criteria is based on ecological value, water level variation and erosion analysis Plants selection criteria: 1. survive from water level change 2. as a waterfront Habitat 3. erosion control
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4. Outcome: d. vegetation
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4. Outcome: e. seasonal succession
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4. Outcome:
f. seasonal view of six seasons on Country
Constr
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ructed waterfront
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Lagoon
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n
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