August workshop abstracts

Kieran Dove

How can landscape architects utilize digital design in the design process?

Digital design support tools, although initially received with skepticism by many, have enhanced the process of designing and have contributed to the creation of better artefacts. Since the introduction of CAD in the 1960’s, we have seen significant improvements in the way we design, but there have always been limitation and challenges. Through my initial research I have noted down a brief list of the challenges that CAD systems face today, notably geometry; it lies at the core of all CAD systems and is often challenged in it use of shape control, interoperability and design exploration. 

Recent digital design systems present opportunities for alleviating this challenge. Among these, and the most promising, are design systems enabling parametric and constraint-based modelling. They present opportunities for supporting the design process more naturally and seamlessly. They are capable of creating, managing, and organizing highly complex (parametric) design models by integrating different types of parameters and rapidly searching for alternative solutions. Using these systems for creating objects with non-Euclidian geometries has become more distinct in domains such as architecture, aerospace, automotive and industrial design, for example, aesthetic and functional goals. Parametric design has been widely used by many professions; some are stated above, however within landscape architecture and urban design its use has been very limited.

The way in which I will be approaching this problem starts with the investigation into literature, case study analysis about Parametric Design and also the wider family of digital design techniques. This is followed by case study analysis of both built projects and design proposals that employ the use of Parametric Design. In regards to my site being a long linear piece of land, Linear Parks will also be investigated to help understand the pros and cons when designing them. Through site analysis I will be able to understand the sites and its functions. This will be a vital component in the development of my model as the information I find will be used as quantitative values for my design. With all this information collected and reviewed I can start to form design experiments that show some of the qualities and characteristics I’ve found through my research. Throughout this process there will be a constant loop of feedback and reflection to give an added depth to the design process. This process should consider a broad range of inputs and variations to create a range of outputs that should be looked at individually and evaluated.

Raewyn Davie-Martin

Mountain to Sea - Water for 21st Century Resilient Cities

How can potable and non-potable decentralized water networks re-image cities?

Globally large water infrastructure projects are being redesigned to use smaller sized grey infrastructure by using operationalized landscapes in conjunction (Department of Environmental Protection 2006).  An example of traditional linear infrastructure with productive natural landscapes with a connected urban water network is Bishon Park, Singapore by Landscape Architect Herbert Dreiseitl (Dreiseitl 2012). The Singapore Island water network design is regulated at government policy level (Dreiseitl 2012). Likewise, precedents from New York City High Performance infrastructure), shows change from the traditional linear water system to alternative holistic infrastructure. (Brown Caputo Carnahan Nielsen 2005). This research will speculate on resilient city planning and city strategies for densification for a distributed city network, which considers water, cluster neighborhoods and eco cities use of recycled wastewater for city resource management (Ed Haas 2012).

The research will investigate precedents from water infrastructure projects for potable and non-potable water network systems for example Singapore. This research will analyze the precedents from Singapore's public utility board reclaimed infrastructure (PUB 2013) and compare this to the Auckland's water infrastructure projects to explore the options for separate potable and non-potable water network systems. The research will consider the use of reclaimed water infrastructure and new technologies. This exploration, will define how hybrid green and blue infrastructure can be designed for future resilient industrial and residential community needs to revue Auckland's current infrastructure (DEP 2006).

Water resources can be divided into a source for potable consumption and a source for non-potable consumption. The reclaimed water from the combined waste and storm water drainage could be used for the increasing city water needs. This secondary water can be recycled for reuse within the neighborhood, for example industrial or agricultural uses for example hydroponic gardening. Developing technologies will redefine the water infrastructure networks to encompass new and old infrastructure practices to redefine the linear infrastructure of the city. The neighborhood water network is the focus and this is where the main change to the developing city densification model is, in this research.

Increasing city density will change ecological functions of land and water. For example the ground water levels and aquifer recharge of the natural water systems will become less efficient. Caused by the increased non-permeable land cover created from the increased built environment. Water runoff from the changing city fabric, will change the natural hydrologic flow patterns. Less water infiltration will cause soils to become less productive.

Grace He

Multi Culturalism in the Urban Landscape

How can the urban designers work with the insights of multiculturalism to create a new kind of inclusive public space in a city?

 The field of multiculturalism is relatively new, emerging first in the Western democracies prior to World War II; it is part of the human rights revolution which explicitly propounded the equality of races and peoples (Kymlicka. W. 2012)

Due to the ageing population, New Zealand has one of fastest immigration population growth rates in the world, Aotearoa New Zealand is now one of the world's most super-diverse societies ( Spoonley P,  R Bedford, 2012).  Compared with rural areas, the challenges of dealing with multicultural societies in the cities are more intense due to this rapidly changing social landscape ( Phillips. S 2013). A city like Auckland has changed dramatically in its demographics over the past two decades and will face a more diverse society in the near future. About 40 percent of Auckland’s population is made up of immigrants from many countries, including the Pacific Islands, China, Korea, the Philippines, and South Africa, and this number will continue increasing in the future ( Spoonley P,  R Bedford, 2012) .

Aucklanders seem to be open to cultural diversity and are more supportive of settlement assistance for immigrants (Gendall et al., 2007).  The Auckland Draft Unitary Plan indicated that one of the critical disciplines of Auckland’s future urban development is: the visibility of Auckland’s cultural diversity (Draft Auckland Unitary Plan 2013) .  How does one transfer this social phenomenon - cultural diversity - to the urban design methodology? This research intends to seek linkage and between diverse cultural values and urban landscape, explore the opportunities to integrate and represent those values in the urban landscape though design practice.

Helen Frances

At the confluence: heritage, rivers and walking.

How can a river-side walkway be designed to meet the needs of multiple stakeholders, in a site that is rich in heritage?

This design project draws on three frames of research.  The primary focus is the practice of landscape architecture in relation to heritage, using the design of a walkway in a heritage-rich site as an applied case study.   Heritage is a cultural construct, a version of the past created by people to serve their needs in the present.  It is intimately related to place, and to people’s sense of identity and belonging.  The research question puts emphasis on the needs of multiple stakeholders.  This emphasis reflects the contestable and potentially complex nature of heritage.  What is significant and valued by one group of people may not be so by others, so within this set of relationships between landscape, heritage, identity and place is a political dimension.  A survey of local residents has revealed that the literal facts of the community’s heritage story has little meaning for most people, but that the story is valued for the sense of community that it generates.  The survey also revealed some resistance to the hegemony of the heritage story, and a desire to hear more diverse and suppressed narratives.

 Secondly, site analysis has examined the unique qualities of the rivers in the design site, and their implications for design, whilst locating them in the larger contexts of the spatial-temporal dynamics of rivers, the place of rivers in culture, and the meaning of these rivers to the local community.   Research so far has revealed that rivers and heritage converge in the way in which they both define and reflect a sense of place, and people’s sense of identification with place.    They both engage with, and generate, cultural and spiritual forces of memories, meanings and myths.

Third, the research explores the idea that landscape comes into being through habitation and engagement.  Walking as a means of inhabiting the land and “embedding” landscape as part of us converges with heritage and the rivers in the making of place and identity.  The spatial unfolding and the temporal and sensual qualities of walking, and the difference between meandering and purposeful walking also inform design. 

Out of the complex matrix of heritage, rivers and landscape, this project aims to generate a designed walkway for a particular community that responds to the ways in which people forge their sense of place and belonging. 

Zoe Cooper

Living Roof Urbanism

How can living roofs be approached urbanistically?

This research proposal outlines an investigation of living roofs urbanism and how we can better integrate urbanistic systems into our cities in light of global urbanisation.  Living roof design and incorporation into our landscape has not successfully maximised potential benefits, nor are these collective benefits acknowledged widely.  The resulting effect is a reduction in global uptake and a disconnect in which living roofs are being “tacked” onto buildings without consideration for the local environment.  Regularly, living roofs are designed for one benefit, for example stormwater attenuation or aesthetics.  Living roofs, if designed in a holistic manner can produce multi-functional benefits that will significantly improve our urban landscape.

The objective of this research is to establish a set of realms (including diagrammatic forms) that we need to collectively consider to achieve holistic living roof development.  In the last six years of working on living roofs I have not encountered a holistic set of design considerations to enable maximum benefits.  The current toolkits, models, policy incentives and case studies compartmentalise the benefits rather than considering living roofs as part of the landscape and another surface that can enhance our environment achieving a multitude of benefits.  My research will include the development of a design process in which holistic measurable metricise will be established, the identification of living roofs case studies, design of a living roofs development, and a qualitative and quantitative evidence based assessment of those designs.

Rithy Heng

Urban Renewal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Cities are the products of human civilization and settlement. They keep changing both physically and socially. With the advancement of technology and economic prosperity, urban lives in the 21st century have become more comfortable and easier. However, there are still some negative aspects arising from urban growth such as air pollution, traffic congestion, and inadequacy of public spaces where people can freely enjoy their time after work. The world has shifted the attention to the creation of a more livable and greener urban environment.

The concept of urban renewal is vital for the lifespan of a city and planning as it helps curbing urban sprawl and introducing new lives into the old, sometimes abandoned, places. As the city is ageing, some parts of it have to be replaced by new elements to keep the city vibrant, livable, and sustainable.

Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, is one of the oldest cities in Southeast Asia dating back to 1431 A.D. The city underwent a lot of changes both physically and socially. During colonial period from 1863 to 1953, Phnom Penh became a center of French colonial government that left some French-styled buildings to present time. From 1953 to 1969, Phnom Penh was developed into one of the most modern cities in Asia acquiring the name “Pearl of Asia”. Modern buildings inspired by Khmer concept were built. In 1970, Cambodia plunged into civil war that destroyed almost everything.

After decades of civil war and instability, Cambodia is emerging as one of the fastest growing economies. Meanwhile, there is development challenge to be addressed. Phnom Penh, the capital, is suffered from absence of planning, population booming, pollution, traffic congestion, and constant flooding from storm water. The ongoing profit-driven developments give little consideration on livability and sustainability. Furthermore, urban renewal is inevitable as Phnom Penh population is increasing. A former landfill will need to be restored to make way for development. Because of its location within the city, it has the potential of becoming a more affluent area by using green space and water as amenities. This project aims to provide alternative design approach by balancing livability, sustainability, and profitability to make it more appealing to developers and government.

XinXin Wang

A green network for a regional city.

Auckland lifestyle is that people leisure time is very close to volcanoes, coasts, and bushes. However, climate change and increasing population has added more pressure to urban and environment. This paper rethinks Auckland plan as a regional city in a scope to 2100, and states three major challenges in the future. In order to address these problems, a green network needs to be built in Auckland region.

Xu Gao

Coastal Cities

How can we develop coastal line as a part of urban area for future and can we develop coastal line with tourism as well? The idea is about coastal cities development through tourism ways, and also protect local resident’s lifestyle.

As one can see, Auckland is the world famous city, and the city’s 70% area consist by coastal waters. Obviously, from the geographical features shows that Auckland belongs to a coastal city, and have many of coastal resources, nevertheless most of Auckland’s coastline is still in undeveloped state, some beach even appeared natural erosion or man-made pollution. However, the most coastal cities in the world always development this region as a regional priority, perhaps because of economic factors, as well as, because of environmental factors. As a coastal city, Auckland in this area have great potential for development, whether it is from the perspective of urban development or ecological protection or basic services for the residents. Then, form the other side, with the Auckland rapid development of urbanization, land has become the main reason for limiting the future development of Auckland, but for New Zealand as an island country, coastline is the most abundant resource, which may also be able to Auckland’s future development towards providing a valuable reference. Moreover, for coastal development, both in the construction of infrastructure and transportation should be relatively easier than construction in inland area.

In addition, as the largest city in New Zealand, Auckland has been the role of tourism as a transit point, so if we can keep these potential economic resources as a driving force of urban development, coastal development may be able to play a great help.

This project will base on those questions and find the way to deal with it, through the concept of eco-tourism and eco-design, which is environmentally and friendly idea for landscape architecture technology practice. However, to scan this topic should be including aesthetics, recreation, leisure, early investigation of sociological and ecological features, involvement of coastal shareholder, local population in the planning process, exactly of site selection and environmentally design.

Gemma Gao

How to achieve multifunctional public spaces in central Auckland in order to resilient urban from earthquake?

Earthquake is a natural disaster that is considered unpredictable in worldwide. People died and injured because of falling buildings but not earthquake itself. However, as Sule (2012) suggested, building resistant cities as well as sustainable land use in order to minimum the natural hazards, and it is similar as my concept of design a multifunctional park. Thus there is a need to analyze the problems of building such a park for people recovery after earthquake, make relative assumptions, and find out reasonable solutions. In this research, six recent case studies from online library were used to analyze research question. Theory of city plan is considered and the relationship between density and safety would be analyzed because there exists high risk of damage due to diffident degree of density. The locations of recovery public space need to be identified while next earthquake happened. Besides, the multifunctional park is allowed to adapt to general use for people.

Junjie Xu

A Brownfield Park.

The Sustainable Landscape - A Practice in Transformation of Brownfield Site

With the development of city, more and more people moving into the city, more houses and roads will be built, but the land is limited. In that case, more greenfield will be occupied to provide the leisure and entertainment space for people. In order to deal with a series of problems of urban development, it is vital to efficiently utilise and redevelop brownfield sites. We need to explore the space of development, put it into good use, return people a comfortable and natural space of living, and make it the greatest treasure of human beings. How can a brownfield site be redeveloped into a public space? Different city has different people, culture and background, the redevelopment of brownfield sites should both observing codes and understanding the local history and geography. According to the Auckland plan, the city will be compact and the world’s most liveable. Sustainability, as a primary principal, has been used to judge whether people can long-term survival or not, so apply sustainable methods to build public space can improve the quality of environment and people’s live, integrate the urban green system and achieve the goal of urban development. Though case studies can collect database and understand relative techniques and skills, find the best way to develop the most appropriated project which will give the answer to the research question.