ESM 02: URBANISM, LANDSCAPE

+ WATER

ESM ARCH3421
TU832/3
N Grundy Photography
Theories of (Ecological) Urbanism
‘Renaudie designed his
buildings according to a
complex geometric pattern
that placed as much
emphasis on the outdoor
areas—the terraces and
gardens between the
apartments’
Mostafavi
Patrick Blanc with Herzog & de Meuron, Vertical Garden,
Caixa Forum, Madrid, Mexico, 2008
Landscape and Infrastructure (ENERGY)
Clemmensson, et al, Qualifying urban landscapes
1. Use residual heat, reuse and cascade energy and reduce consumption,
and by doing so, activate public space and facilitate sustainable mobility

2. Transform modern cities into sponges, generating flexible stormwater

storage spaces with additional functions in off-peak time

3. Collect and process organic waste to fertilize urban farms and produce
sustainable energy

4. Establish practices for construction-waste reuse, reducing demolition,

construction material logistics and new construction in a way that heritage is
retained and inclusive and sustainable communities are created

5. Take advantage of neglected urban pockets to bring ecology into the

urban environment, thereby encouraging healthy lifestyles through direct
contact with nature.

6. Prioritize access to sustainable mobility and electric vehicles by building

dedicated infrastructure in combination with renewable energy provision
FABRICations, Eric Frijters and Olv Klijn.
https://vimeo.com/126177874

Mesocosm (Times Square, NY) Marina Zurkow

https://pixabay.com/p-2680425/?no_redirect
‘the computer’s glass screen’

Morton, T, 2018, pxi

‘the beach from which the glass screen was
extracted’

Morton, T, 2018, pxi

‘ocean waves’

Morton, T, 2018, pxi

‘salt crystals’

Morton, T, 2018, pxi

‘whales’

Morton, T, 2018, pxi

‘jelly fish’

Morton, T, 2018, pxi

‘coral’

Morton, T, 2018, pxi

‘So every decision is a political one. Allowing a
watch to be a landing strip for a fly. Allowing a
plastic bag to be a bird murderer. Allowing a
painting to be seen only by people who can
afford the entrance fee. Living in a building
designed to shunt dirty air somewhere else,
when now we realise that somewhere else
just means nowhere else, because it’s on the
same planet.’
Morton, T, 2018, p86.
What are the pros and cons of the materials? Are there natural or
artificial materials? Could other materials have been chosen? What
raw materials are used? How were the materials made? Is the
function of the building influenced by the choice of materials?
What colours do you see? What tones do you see? What nuances do
you see? What shadows do you see?
CONNECTED-NESS (Materials)
Landscape and Infrastructure… water
 WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
All water transported to buildings is potable.. Only 15-25%
of water is drunk..

Transporting within buildings

• Contamination- Legionnaires..
• Temperature
• Pressure

Between buildings
• Contamination
• Leaks
• Cost of infrastructure
Water usage- 250l/person/day
150-180 more desirable
Water movement across landscape
1861 ‘Delta Survey’ Plate I.Mississippi Drainage Basin.Detail.
1861 ‘Delta Survey’ Plate II. Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Detail.
1861 ‘Delta Survey’ Plate X. Cross Sections of Mississippi.
 Channel changes

Bluff, Utah
Stream flow
1944 ‘Fisk Report’. Development of Alluvial surface. Detail. 1:500,000.
1944 ‘Fisk Report’. Alluvial valley stream courses. Detail. 1:250,000
Geomorphic Floodplain
Base level
Sea level change
Waterflow in urban and natural environments
Dublin’s waterways
Flumina Hiberniae 2040
Hydrological effects of urbanisation
Eastern CFRAM Study HA09 Hydraulics Report Camac Model
Eastern CFRAM Study HA09 Hydraulics Report Camac Model
Building on floodplains
Wolfe Tone Quay, 2011
Eastern CFRAM Study HA09 Hydraulics Report Camac Model
Shannon Terrace, Faulkners Terrace and Lady's Lane
Eastern CFRAM Study HA09 Hydraulics Report Camac Model
microclimates
 HIPPO1,

1EO Wilson, 2005, ‘Hippo dilemma’, in Windows on the Wild:

Science and Sustainabiliy. New Africa Books.
 50-100 SPECIES ARE VANISHING
EVERY DAY – 10,000 TIME FASTER THAN
NATURAL EXTINCTION RATES; FASTER
THAN AT ANY TIME IN THE PAST 65M YEARS.
 Wet days – 1mm or more of rain

On east coast about 150 days/year

On west coast about 225 days/year

Rainfall
On east coast between 750 and 1,000mm per year
On west coast between 1,000 and 1,400mm per year

1mm equals to 1 litre of water per m2

100- 200 year storm can be 40mm/hour
 CALCULATING RAINFALL VOLUMES
>150mm
150mm used as 100 year, over 24 hours storm

150mm is equal to 150 litres/m2 per day

Site area: ?
Rainfall intensity 900mm/year per sq m of land area
Demand is 150 l/day
 SUDS
make use of natural drainage processes.

Four general methods of control

• Filter strips and swales
• Filter drains and permeable surfaces
• Infiltration devices
• Basins and Ponds
 SUDS
These controls should be located as close as possible
to where the rainwater falls, providing attenuation for
the runoff. They also provide varying degrees of
treatment for surface water, using the natural processes
of sedimentation, filtration, absorption and biological
degradation.

Attenuation: slowing down the rate of flow to prevent

flooding and erosion, with a consequent increase in the
duration of the flow.
 Ecosystem types
Ground Treatment

Retention (water holding)

Detention (slowing flow)

Infiltration potential: the rate at which water flows

through a soil (mm/hr). Coarse soils such as sands and
gravels have a higher infiltration potential than silts
and clays.
 Evapotranspiration:

Evaporation transfer of water to air from earth

Transpiration transfer of water within plant loss of
water vapour through its leaves.

Runoff:
Flow of water over the ground surface to the drainage
system, occurs when the ground is impermeable,
saturated or rainfall is intense.
Effects of latitude and longitude
 Filter strips and Swales

Vegetated surface features that drain

water evenly off impermeable areas.

Swales: long shallow channels

Filter strips: gently sloping area of ground
Filter strips and Swales
Swales
 Filter Drains

Permeable surfaces store water below ground

• Grass (if area not trafficked)
• Reinforced grass
• Gravelled area
• Solid paving blocks with large vertical holes
• Solid paving blocks with gaps between units
• Porous paving blocks with system of voids
within units
• Continuous surface with system of voids
Filter Drains
Permeable Pavements
Permeable Pavements
Infiltration trenches and
Soak-Aways

Under drained
Area – 5 hectares
 Infiltration basin

Areas for storage of surface runoff that are free from

water under dry weather flow conditions

• Flood plains
• Detention basins
• Extended detention basins
 Ponds

• Balancing and attenuation ponds

• Flood storage reservoirs
• Lagoons
• Retention ponds
• Wetlands
Retention Ponds
Retention Ponds
• Depth/area storage
• Head/Discharge
Relationship
• Throttle Rate
• Effective Contributing
area
• Rainfall
• Level of Service
• Safety

Retention Ponds
 Riparian Greenways

• Non-point source
pollution
• Buffer
• Multi-use
• Ecological Purposes

Boston
Designing Riparian Greenways

• Edges
• Forest managed
• Native species
– Tree/Shrub
• Species
– Deep roots
– Dense top growth
• Avoid exotic species
 Storm water wetlands

• 14 days retention
• Permanent pools
• Drainage area >5
hectares
wetlands
Wetlands – cross section
Reedbed management for commercial and wildlife interests (Hawke & José 1996]
Lizzie Harper
Hockerton Housing Robert and Brenda Vale
• To investigate the retention of water within your site,
containing water at source.
• To allocate areas on site with water storage
capacity.
• To investigate different types of ground treatments,
such as such as humanmade linings, and
vegetation, their substrates and drainage layers.
• To investigate how SUD systems can provide
resistance to stormwater flooding in an urban
environment
ROSS KILEEN: ‘BECOMING MEN’

http://vimeo.com/75025182
 Architectural review
‘Water + Architecture part 3:
Water Park’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awUAgTTimgE