Make No Small Plans
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Transcript of Make No Small Plans
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8/6/2019 Make No Small Plans
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AIAFEATURE
UACDC and Habitatfor Humanitysredevelopment projectfor 17 homes centerson a natural watershedprocess to cleanand recycle water inRogers, Ark. Whilewater is a regional
concern, its effectivetreatment begins atthe local level.
illustrations:uacdcand
habitatfor
humanity
Grounding architecture withina larger building ecology. Make
No SmallPlans
pavers:donated material,provides semi-permeable surfaceaiding in recharge crushed brick:
byproduct of brick-manufacturingprocess, provides a permeablesurface that aids in filtration of
stormwater
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regional issues such as stormwater treatment and energyproduction have become major elements of the design of architecturalprojects, even at a very small scale. As demand for natural resourcesrises and the impact of pollution spreads, taking these issues intoconsideration is likely to become a more important part of urbanplanning and architecture. is years national AIA conventionrecognizes the shift with its theme Regional Design Revolution:Ecology Matters.
But many argue that the long-term thinking of regionalism is stilla burgeoning concept.
e time frame that our culture works on is far too short whenwe look at how long cities actually last, says Tom Christoffel,AICP, editor of Regional Community Development News, a bimonthlynewsletter tracking regionalism in planning and architecture.
A building is not just a building. Its part of the ecology of thebuilt environmenta vast interconnected web of components andelements as varied as transportation, water, jobs, and energy. eseare the concerns faced by the regions within which buildings stand.Increasingly, macro long-term concerns are weaving their way intothe design processes of architects and planners.
A number of projects nationwide epitomize detailed considerationof regional issues, from energy production to transportationinfrastructure to affordable housing. Water is often seen as the mostimportant regional concern. With watersheds and aquifers that canspan states and serve tens of millions of people, it is increasinglyimportant for projects to use both an appropriate amount of waterand reduce reliance on aging water infrastructure and centralizedwater-treatment facilities.
is was the main goal for Habitat Trails, a 17-unit neighborhooddevelopment in Rogers, Ark., designed as low-income housing bythe University of Arkansas Community Design Center (UACDC).
Low Impact Development (LID), an emerging set of standards forutilizing natural watershed processes to clean and recycle water,guided the Habitat for Humanity Project. e site will essentiallywork as a sponge, absorbing all rainwater and runoff withoutexpensive and ineffi cient pipes, catchbasins, and curbs and gutters,according to Stephen Luoni, Assoc. AIA, director of the UACDC.
may
2011
Designers for HabitatTrails call for parks, not
pipes, in creating anecological system thatcan be linked to other,regional systems.
Up to 47 percent of surface pollutants can be removedin the first 15 minutes of a storm event, includingpesticides, fertilizers, biologically derived materials,and litter. Pervious surfaces that capture stormwaterrunoff increase opportunities for pollutant removal andattenuation of flow velocity.
credit
concrete and asphalt:concrete used at sidewalks,asphalt used at roads;asphalt is more pervious thanconcrete and is used where
current codes will allow
grasscrete:permeable surfacewith facultativevegetation, providessediment control andrecharge capacity
bioswale:facultative vegetation aids
in phytoremediation andpollutant removalrightplant, right place
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Absorbency served as the dominant design parameter and the firststep.Once we had determined an ecological fabric that can function
within a predevelopment hydrological model, then we went in and
proposed the roads and houses, says Luoni. Water-management
infrastructure is designed not to exceed the carrying capacity of the
sites landscape to biologically treat stormwater runoff. Its starting in
the exact opposite way that conventional developers start.
at approach may catch on. Of the six housing units already
built, Luoni reports that the water absorption and treatment capacity
of the site have already exceeded expectations.
e project has also won numerous awards, including the 2008AIA Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design.
Another inventive regional design is Lopez Common Ground by
the Seattle-based architecture, planning, and landscape architecture
firm Mithun. Located on Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands north
of Seattle, the projects 11 homes on seven acres are designed to be
both highly water- and energy-effi cient. Photovoltaic solar-panel
and solar-thermal systems provide energy and water heating for the
project, which approaches net-zero-energy consumption, according
Projects of regional scale like these do
exist, and their numbers seem to be
growing. But for many veterans in thefield, those numbers are still too low.
to Mithun principal Mark Shapiro, AIA. Catchment systems in thisrainy climate provide all the water for the neighborhoods toilet
flushing, clothes washing, and irrigation.
But water and energy arent the only concerns. Once a primarily
working-class community, this small island about 65 miles from
Seattle has steadily transformed into a weekend retreat and vacation
spot for mainlanders, pricing island service workers out of their
homes. e response from Mithun and its client, the Lopez Island
Community Land Trust, was to build affordable housing.
is is just one Mithun project that takes a regional approach to its
design. Shapiro says that responding to the natural environment hasbecome an integral part of the firms design process.
Once one starts to look at things from that point of view, the
idea of scale jumping becomes really important, Shapiro says.
Its about how any individual project, no matter how small it is,
can really contribute to a larger strategy.
Neighborhood planning takes on even more importance as
the scale increases. On the south side of Chicago, the location of
a former steel-manufacturing plant thats been unused for years
is the site of some innovative, large-scale, and regionally sensitive
planning. e Lakeside master plan by Sasaki Associates and SOMwould replace the disused 460-acre plant with a 13,500-person
medium-density, mixed-use community. Located directly on the
shore of Lake Michigan, this project proposal is notable for using and
integrating former industrial land into the urban fabric. e master
plan also includes 100 acres of lakefront park space, part of which fills
in an empty segment of a regional waterfront park system.
Again, water is the crucial consideration. Because Chicago has
a shared hard infrastructure for its stormwater and sewage, major
Sasaki Associates and SOMsLakeside master plan forChicago integrates formerindustrial land into a mixed-use, medium-densitycommunity model.
itr
ti:icite,ic.did
re,ierri
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Passive rainwater absorption would reduceLakesides burden on an already overtaxedregional water system.
Green alleys Bioswales
Green roofs
Biofiltration and infiltration
Pervious pavements
Collect
ion
Conveyance
rain events cause major pollution problems in the lake. e master
plan accounts for this potentially hazardous regional condition, andrainwater passively absorbs into about 90 percent of the projects
footprint. Reducing the stress on an already overstressed urban water
infrastructure system was a priority, according to Sasaki president
Dennis Pieprz.
And we did it in a way that made it ecologically visible, says
Pieprz. It was expressed as part of the aesthetic of the public realm,
so you could see how the cleansing and the design of the wetlands
were operating.
e master plan was recently approved by the Chicago City Council,
and major work on the 25-year vision is expected to begin in 2013.Projects of regional scale like these do exist, and their numbers
seem to be growing. But for many veterans in the field, those numbers
are still too low. Daniel E. Williams, FAIA, has long been a practitioner
of ecologically based planning and design that addresses regional
issues, including climate change, sea-level rising, and post-disaster
planning. His 2007 book, Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture and
Planning, calls for an expanded definition of sustainability in design
that considers not only a regions environment, but also its economy
and social structure over a time scale of hundreds of years.
What we all need to be doing is learning more of the sciencein
particular on climate change, ecology, and hydrologyand finding
out how regional systems actually contribute to the health of the local
economy and community, he says.
Once architects and planners develop this understanding, more
projects will begin to actively recognize and respond to the ecology of
the built environment. at shift has begun.
Implementation of theLakeside master plan,approved by Chicago CityCouncil in 2010, is slatedto begin in 2013.
RainbowPark
ExistingFiltrationPlant
79th Street
83rd Street
Lake Michigan
87th Street
92nd Street
Calumet Park
Calum
etRiv
er
ChicagoSkyway
ProposedSouthChicagoPark
may
2011
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