Abstracts

The Sponge City in New Zealand
Teng Sun

Abstract
With global warming as a result of climate change, extreme weather such as flooding, heat waves and drought have appeared frequently in recent years. Carbon dioxide levels have increased 40 percent since the 1700s and have warmed the lower atmosphere and surface of our planet around one degree in the last 50 years. As a consequence, evaporation and humidity keep increasing, which causes flooding and drought in many cities.

Sponge city concept was mentioned in a low carbon city and regional development science and technology forum in 2012 in China. A sponge city is a city that acts as a sponge with an urban environment planned and constructed to soak up almost every raindrop and capture that water for reuse. There are six keywords in this project, which are infiltrate, detain, absorb, clean, use and discharge. This research will mainly focus on absorb and detain sponge city changes and beautify the urban environment through function and art. The Sponge City indicates a particular type of city that does not act like an impermeable system not allowing any water to filter through the ground, but, more like a sponge, actually absorbs the rainwater, which is then naturally filtered by the soil and allowed to reach into the urban aquifers.

This research proves the ambition of the sponge city is to resolve large scale flooding problem through comparing with alternative concepts around the world, such as low impact urban design, water sensitive urban design and sustainable urban design. Also, using five case studies to summary the key landscape techniques, they are detention pond, stream landscape, widen or daylight stream, sustainable street and green roof.

Auckland is suffering urban flooding for years, news and reports also keep showing in rainy seasons to remain people. This research will indicate the causes and effects of urban flooding in Auckland. After that, narrow down the design area to New Lynn area which is the one of the worst-hit areas in Auckland. However, the current climate, the shape and the current situation of the city cannot be changed in the short term. Therefore, how to design sponge city to adapt to the urban state is my future research direction. Then I’m going to use the New Lynn area as an example to present how to resolve urban flooding through landscape techniques.

The catchment analysis includes several different types of data from GEO maps to show the result of urban flooding and the primary design strategy. The maps include Whau catchment map, sub-catchment maps, contours map, flood-prone map, flood plains map, overland flow map, Impervious surfaces and building footprints. This chapter also mentions a rational method which can calculate the peak flooding, then using the result of the calculation to match with every design to show the improvement.

This research presents five design works which all near or in the flooding area. These five sites will combine five different landscape techniques through sponge city, which are detention pond, widen and deepen stream, rain garden, porous pavement and green roof. Then list three different design options in the first two design to show different focus and success through comparing advantage and flood capacity.

Meng Zhang
Low-impact, climate-resilience urban design: renew inner city’s harbour
The challenges of managing stormwater run-off, which partly caused by climate change, have always been receiving highly attentions from all around world. However, due to stormwater been discharged into the harbours, which undoubtedly not only causes seawater contamination, also increased risk of people’s illness and intensify marine species’ loss. In this stage, it is most important to purify the rain flow before it run into sea.
My personal research will explore how to develop a design project which mainly focus on effectively keeping catchment water being clearer in order to prevent harbour environment. At first, I attempt to entirely analyse what design approaches, based on the framework of low impact urban design, also climate-resilience theory, may act on both mitigating catchment contamination and controlling over-flooding. Then, to consult with the previous project, I intend to choose a several coastal cities which also suffer from similar stormwater issues, and find what design approaches they used and whether they can effectively work. Finally, my expectation of this research is to address the Cox Creek catchment’s pollution to maintain and return Cox’s Bay being animated and recreational.

The Urban Regeneration of Declining CBD Periphery Zones
-   The Study of the Strand Station Area in Auckland
 Guanghui Jiang


ABSTRACT
Due to an increasing number of people’s agglomeration in large cities, the realm of urbanization of these cities is growing larger than before. The CBD periphery zone (CBDPZ) which is the immediate edge areas along with city centres between the CBD and the suburbs are faced with several problems by this urban growth. In addition, the CBDPZ is of high value for urban regeneration with some potential opportunities, such as introducing new public spaces, creating new transit nodes and promoting new urban expansion. This research by design project analyses issues to identify a number of approaches to address the current urban problems such as poor land use, low quality public spaces and functional isolation due to heavy traffic roads in the declining CBDPZ.

This research investigates a potential approach to regenerate the CBDPZ in large cities. After background reading and literature review, several methods are employed including using case study, undertaking data analysis and developing research by design process. The research investigation looks at the Strand Station area on the north-east edge of Auckland City Centre and it is run down with similar problems to the defined CBDPZ. The site has a great deal of potential for environmentally friendly and transit-oriented urban regeneration. The design project identifies an urban redevelopment strategy for the Strand Station, which is a High-Speed Train TOD project optimizing land use, rehabilitating geographic contexts, creating high-quality public spaces and encouraging connectivity and mobility. The design is not restricted in the specific site, while there is a big image of a large-scale urban development, like recreating Auckland waterfront and even linking other cities Hamilton and Wellington by High-speed Trains in New Zealand. Ultimately, the research seeks not only to improve Auckland urban form through redeveloping the Strand Station area, but also to help other big cities around the world to make strategic plans for the urban regeneration of the CBDPZ.
Keywords
the CBD periphery zone; urban regeneration; land use; high-quality public spaces; environmentally friendly, rehabilitation, High-speed Train, transit-oriented development; connectivity; mobility.


Designing Cities for Children: A Process of Shared Dialogue


Wenjin Zhan

With the acceleration of urbanization and the aggravation of population problems, urban planning and development are faced with several problems, especially the planning and design of urban space for children. The reduction of public space reduces children's access to nature and has an impact on children's physical and psychological health. In addition, the decrease of children's independent mobility and the concept of the child-friendly city cannot serve children well. This series of problems affecting childhood have attracted more and more attention. As adults becoming increasingly aware of children's current and future role as rights-holding city dwellers

Coupled with an increasing boilerplate approach to creating child-friendly cities. The ‘Lookout’ project is one approach has tried to improve people’s awareness of the city by a shared dialogue between children and adults. It is an opportunity for children to reflect the city in a different way.

This research project aims to investigate a different approach through shared dialogue between children and adults for designing urban environments that are more inclusive of children. Firstly, do some background reading and literature review, then collect and analyse the data from the 'Lookout' project at Newton Central School in 2017 and search for themes that could inform my design. After that research public space in Auckland and do the design project. Finally, evaluation of the process, this research hope to use the shared dialogue between children and adults in a different way to provide increased nature experiences and more equitable urban environments for children.

The Dementia Park
Chentong Wang

Dementia, or another name, Alzheimer, can be defined as the mild cognitive impairment. People experiencing dementia not only lost survival abilities, such as poor memory, but also have emotional disease, such as depression, anxiety, even apathy.
In the past, dementia is a common brain disease for elderly. Whilst, the situation has changed that middle age group over 45 are possible have dementia. The latest statistics reveals that over 60,000 New Zealanders have a dementia diagnosis and the population is predicted to increase in terms of demographic population change. It is not a unique instance that Scotland and UK have the similarly increased tendency as New Zealand and these two countries have designed specific public parks for sufferers suffering dementia to encourage them to do outdoor activities for developing their physical and mental health. Actually, most of sufferers with early stage dementia are able to survive alone and they need open public spaces to do exercises and meet new friends, which have positive impact on slowing down the deterioration. Thus, it is necessary to create public parks for people with dementia at the early stage in order to satisfy their needs instead of locking them at home or sending them into care villages.
The aim is to improve the wellbeing of early stage sufferers through making them feel safe, comfortable and confident in outdoor public environment leading to their greater empowerment. This project will investigate the extent to how to design dementia –friendly parks for people experiencing early stage dementia in Auckland. After collecting related data and selecting a site, it will evoke a completed design plan. This kind of public park not only satisfy sufferers with dementia needs, but also healthy old people.


Disrupting Apia Flooding through Landscape Architecture & Faasamoa

Bio: Dexell Frankie Aita is a Samoan Landscape Architect Graduate. Holding a Bachelor’s degree from the Unitec Institute of Technology, he is aspiring to be the first Samoan with a Masters in Landscape Architecture.

 Flooding disrupts communities, commerce and ecology. An 18-month project sets out to disrupt engineering design with the braiding of Samoan traditional knowledge of water and ecological management. Overloaded infrastructure in Apia, Samoa co-exists with annual flash flooding produced from the 3 water catchments (Vaisigano River, Vailima River, and Vaiusu River), bringing about destruction to infrastructure, homes, and polluting the Apia harbour. River flooding in Samoa is a serious and reoccurring issue that generally affects the capital (Apia), located at the base of steep water catchments and along the coastal front. These tend to overflow with heavy rainfall events. The flash flooding on April 2001, directly affected approximately 5,000 residents and caused damage that was estimated to exceed $6.15 million (NZ).
The aim is to design a resilient plan for Apia, to better prepare and enable the capital to respond to climate change. This will provide an ideal platform to introduce cultural and environmentally sensitive approaches used in landscape architecture, for addressing future flooding in Samoa. This research understands that flooding in Apia is not the result of one catchment overflow, but a result of three large catchments. The scope of the investigation is directed towards the Vailima River catchment (due to the large scale of the site) as a template for change.
The braiding of Samoan knowledge with landscape architectural strategies will translate these ecological techniques for dealing with flooding to the community of Apia. Integrating Samoan art, local materials, myths and legends with the technical methods of dealing with flooding issues would make the project better suited for the Apia landscape.




DISRUPTION TO IDENTITY: PŪTAHI A WHENUA
Te Kerekere Roycroft
Ngāpuhi – Ngāti Korokoro – Ngāti Wharara – Te Poukā



BIO: Masters of Landscape Architecture (by Project) student at Unitec. Also, having completed a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (Unitec,2018), and Bachelor of Applied Science (landscape management focus; Massey,2017). Forging a new path has led to better understanding my own kōrero, rohe and whakapapa. Perception and narrative inform how we experience landscape.                                                                                                          

The arrival of British traders, Christian missionaries and colonial government representatives in the 1830’s disrupted Māori culture and identity. New ideologies, new cultural values, a new God, and new land relationships were introduced. Despite the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, after wars, land confiscations, and Māori language and healing experts banned, cultural genocide took place. The result is poverty, loss of land connections and inter-generational trauma.

All is not lost. A Māori cultural renaissance has taken place:  language and resilience are returning. In rural areas such as Pakanae in Hokianga, hapū members who have local jobs or subsist on their land remain to keep the coals of ahi karoa glowing. Those family members hold the memories and knowledge of identity and land connections of the hapū.  Many have moved to the cities for work or family, and younger generations are losing memories associated with their turangawaewae. The protection of those connections and the future health and management of our sacred places depend on the transfer of knowledge from those remaining to younger generations who can take action. Pūtahi a Whenua sets out to assist in knowledge transfer as well as providing techniques and stimulus to enable awareness, involvement in skilled land management, and hapū resilience.

Initial guidance provided by whānau has informed research along the most respectful and fruitful path. Adopting a kaupapa Māori methodology, the desires and aspirations of Iwi/hapū have been shared and linked to significant sites and whakapapa. More collective understanding of our stories, songs and memories, enable us to connects impetus, through knowledge transmission, collaboration and design; to outcomes that enable future aspirations for these places.

Roiho is the inspiration and test case for this project. Roiho is a wāhi tapu in Pakanae, where my father is buried, it is the burial ground and former papakainga of our rohe. Roiho is prone to wave erosion, sea level rise, neighbouring agricultural stressors and land use change. Understanding and motivation are both important factors when planning for the future of any landscape.  Linking GIS mapping to oral narratives of place and cultural landscapes can not only enable whānau to understand the importance of those places but to assess the effects of climate change, planning requirements and legislative changes and opportunities, and to therefore better manage land for their future. Pūtahi a whenua joins whānau in an integrated response for our valued homeplace.

Self-sufficient design: The New School of Architecture
Master of Architecture by Project

Okan Can Bozat

Global climate change and increasing population causes higher amount of carbon emissions. According to huge growth in the building industry, whole energy needs are increasing and the carbon footprints of the buildings are rising rapidly. Common approach on building design, requires external systems that needs high amount of energy to provide demanded heating, cooling, air circulation and water supply. However, with the sustainable approach, all those needs for the building environment and internal atmosphere could be supplied by natural systems within a respect to environment. The purpose of this research is to discover how to achieve “self-sufficiency” on an educational building at Unitec South Campus, Mt Albert. This is to say, the term self-sufficiency in this proposal is defined as a building with lower carbon footprint, that can answer its own needs, and achieves thermal comfort with higher air quality. In order to achieve self-sufficiency, passive design methodology and zero energy approaches are going to be applied and while achieving those features, the systems are going to be used in this School of Architecture building, will also act as architectural elements on design and will define the characteristic of building.


 Applying a BIM-based Approach in Designing
Flexible Housing

Zahra Baradaran Khalkhali

In designing a house usually it is common to be focused on the current needs of clients and users, but soon these initial needs will change for several reasons like family growth, ageing, and changing lifestyle. Different solutions for this issue have been suggested by architects. Flexible Housing is a type of dwelling that has the ability to adjust to changing needs of its occupants. Although all the qualitative research indicates that this type of dwelling is an economic and sustainable solution, there is little quantitative data to support this argument. The reason is that the real financial benefit of Flexible Housing will only be recognizable when in spite of the routine procedures __ that everything is done based on immediate expenditure __ whole life costing is taken into account.
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an almost new approach in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Applying BIM potentials in design process could help the architect to make better architectural decisions in the first place as there are enough quantitative data to support the cost-benefit analysis of the design. This research aims to design a flexible house using a BIM supported design process which will be done in the form of a detached house in Auckland.
To achieve the purpose of this research, first, according to the literature review the main features of a flexible house have been determined. Among different techniques that have been applied by architects to achieve flexibility, in this project, ‘slack space’ has been chosen. This idea will allow us to add flexibility to design by preparing some unprogrammed spaces to be occupied by users to address their new needs in the future. These phases will be done through a BIM-based design process so we will use its potentials especially in cost estimation and documentation.

Key Words: Flexible Housing, Building Information Modelling (BIM), slack space, whole life cost