Green Roof

   In the lecture today, Fran Vernon from fitzgerald frisby talked about green roof.

The issue that I got interested in is Hanging Garden of Babylon, that she briefly mentioned as historical perspective. However, There seems like not much valid information about its detail, as it is well known as one of the seven wonder.

However, in one of the many descriptions about it, Dalley and Oleson mentioned about this simple technology "Water screw/Archimedes' screw" as important irrigation tool for the hanging garden. According to them, that "water screw consists of a cylinder containing several
continuous helical walls that, when the entire cylinder is rotated on its longitudinal axis, scoop up water at the open lower end and dump it out the upper end"

It is seems to be used now.

Modern Alchemedes' Screw which replaced some of the windmills to drain the polder in Holland.

Although we cannot help mentioning about this ugry fat structure, some of these technology are appealing aesthetically too.

I think this is quite retrofitted to the current environment too.

This kind of reminds me a waterwheel that I sometimes saw in countryside. It is a similar system.

It is a old picture showing the farmer bringing water into rice field from creek by stepping the water wheel.

Here, I just noticed that old/ancient technology often allows people visualize ecosystem, or how things are working. Also it allows people experience natural system by involving thier body and outputting man-power to the dynamic natural system. Human body has worked as mediator to connect mind and environment.

Mmmm, then it seems like controversial that we are looking for some technology for landscape that people can experience ecosystem.

One hand, people want to be easy, looking for efficiency; on the other hand people actually need to move/work to feel certain satisfaction.

Anyway, I think landscape has to call for some sort of one's physical movement, and this active movement can be drawn within one's daily life; experiencing landscape can be translated in this way too.

Roof Garden in Japan

Coming back to roof garden, I found that Japan is quite progressive in a way there are many projects that solves one of the hardest issue of loading in roof garden.　

This is a roof garden in middle of Tokyo, Roppongi Hills. It locates on 45 m high and is 1300mxm. 

One of the theme for this project is to show the Japanese landscape with cultural activity in four seasons.

This project successfully utilize the load of roof garden for building stability with the Design of seismic control using roof garden as mass damper.    It also largely contributes on education for children that live in middle of city as you see the picture above.  I'm not sure the total productivity of this garden;however, it reminds us the strong image of Japanese traditional image to the people by symbolically exist on top of the most modernized area where Channel, Gucci, Luis vitton, Goldman sacs, etc...

For the detail of roof garden, following web sites are offering rich information that I will refer in the future project.

http://www.zinco.de/ausland/english/index.php
www.bauder.co.uk
www.toho-leo.co.jp　(japanese)

Regarding to my point of visualizing ecological system or mechanism of how things work, I found the potential elements in this project, although it is not really successful project over all.

This is an educational park attached water sewage plant.   It accommodates various play equipments that introduces material and process of how water purification system works in that  sewage plant.  It appeals the characteristic both in appearance and experiencing water with play equipments that children physically interact with.  

This is a water gun that they experience the strength of water depending on their input to pulling and pushing the lever that connects with a spring of gun.  Once the water fills the dish of target, it makes sounds with a system of gravity.

This equipment allows childrens to generate electricity that splash water from the fountain by rotating the handle and cycling the pedal.  The amount of electricity that they generates are digitally visualized too, while they see the difference of power between legs and arms.

This is  seesaw that has two cylinder to pump water up on the center.  Children are able to manipulate the water of the fountain by playing with this seesaw.

Other than the equipments, this is a bench.

Again, i am not saying this is an ideal project, but I found many hints to design landscape that allows visualizing and experiencing ecological/mechanical system.

Design Tool and representation

The lecture done by city council of Melbourne was about design tool especially computer software in designing landscape.  As McLuhan states "medium is message", the selection of appropriate design tool is critical skill for landscape architect.

I list some key points or useful information that I picked up from the lecture here.

+ It is common to show a design by Before and After picture by photo montage with photoshop/ However, in many case, it manipulate photo by making slightly different situation, and mislead the viewer.  Situation that I mean here maybe  the number of people, light intensity etc.

+Select right representation for based on what you want to show.

--- It is obvious that modeling by 3-D max or Rhino looks better than Sketchup, but takes much more time.  You have to choose right tool, thinking about how much you want to spend time on it, and what do you want to show with it.  

+It is significant to consider audiences for representation of design.  Are they used to look at animation? Do they rather like artistic hand drawing?

+ Design tool does not only determine representation but also affect the product itself in its process.  As I took a look at it in the last blog, these tool dynamically affect and transform design.   If you learn some program, you will easily notice how and why those form are designed in many famous project in current architectural scene, though that looks like almost impossible to draw by hand.

 

Bridge in Dockland   Retrieved from Worldwideweb.

The PET bottle, designed by Ross Lovegrove (1999 - 2002)

   "It is conceptually unique in terms of production delivery and in form to the water concept, demonstrating advances in blow moulding techniques". (http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/pet.html) 

   Most of the modeling software has to fix each dimension, and hard to design in relation to others.  However recently introduced high tech software such as CATIA allows to design form in relationship rather than absolute number. It is innovative concept in design software, since the design never was fixed by itself.  There are some project that this parametric design is applied.  

This introduce recent project of Zaha Hadid which she designed Thames Gateway regeneration corridor to the east of London, based on “parametric” techniques.

http://zahahadidblog.com/movies/2007/06/22/121

"Hadid & Schumacher use advanced computer modelling software to project these four building types over a base map of the Thames Gateway. They have adjusted this model to reflect the area’s current conditions, and used it to speculate on possible forms of future development. They have tested multiple combinations of the different building types, often fusing them to create hybrid structures. The outcome of these experiments is documented in a large-scale image with a range of striking new forms, and an animated sequence which shows the evolution of an intensely urban pattern across the area."   (from the link above)

Considering just a bit, I can think of so many possibilities of parametric modeling even in Landscape architecture.

1. You can test many different form from limited resources.  Usually you design form first and prepare material or resources.  If they are not enough, then you adjust your fixed form by making it smaller or cutting some elements.  However, it allows to work from the amount of material or resources, then test endless number of forms that computer produces randomly in a second.  It allows you to visualize many different possibility that you are going to dig further. 
2. The parameter can be a planning or design code.  you can constraint randomness, depending on your set up.  The computer produce forms within a constraint that you set up.  you may set up the planning code of hight, size of area for each element, amount of water you want to use
3. It allows to effectively and collaborate with other disciplines for a project.   One project requires working with different disciplines such as architect,  engineer, ecologist, planner, engineer, etc.  It often creates the hierarchy in terms of order of the process, which constraint creativity of work.  However, parametric design allows different disciplines working paralelly, since you design the relationship rather than fixing each absolute number. 

The design  tool rapidly develop and enhance our design dynamically, however, most of them are computer which does not require us to use our body.  It is truth that the contemporary design tool alienate our body.  How this affects the design form and products overall.

Land is used to be modified in ways of life for long process by many people, which has created cultural landscape.  However, nowadays it is modified by few people with computer in short time.  We should keep the process that links way of life and landscape in our mind when we follow computer technology.

Qanats, Iran.

The ancient persians may have innovated underground aqua ducts, or qanats, as early as the eighth century, B.C. It is essentially a sloped, underground tunnel, sometimes of great length and depth, that takes advantages of gravity to channels a continuous flow of groundwater from its higher end, usually in or near the mountains, to the lower and drier plains. At lower terminal, the water is apportioned through a network of irrigation channels. The manhole-sized vertical shafts were used to excavate and maintain the channel.

Inca agricultural terraces, c. 15th century

   The Nazca people prevailed along the southern coast, where inadequate water was one of the most serious problems confronting farmers.  The Nazca people devised a system of underground aqueducts perhaps around A.D. 600.  It took advantages of the sloping water table of the Nazca valley to channel water to where it was needed.  Inca fields were terraced, flanked by stone retaining walls, and equipped with stone-lined drainage systems.  Moray's extraordinary terracing-three sets of concentric amphitheater-like cavities and one horseshoe-shaped set-may be adaptations of natural sinkholes in the underlying limestone.  

Map of Tenochititlan

   The Aztecs founded their capital on swampy islands in Lake Texcoco; a network of canals wove through the city to facilitate canoe traffic.  Tenochtitlan impressed the conquistadors, who arrived in 1519 as a city that floated on water.  Alongthe southern edges if the city, farmers built an extensive network of chinampas, composting the rectangular, raised garden plots with the rich silt they dredged from the lake and canals. The floating vegetable beds created in the course of the Aztec's ongoing drainage and land-reclamation projects were composed of woven-grassmats, covered with a layer of lkepbottom mud. Theywere highly productive; one acre could reportedly provide enough food for six to wight people.  If this estimate is correct, it follows that 200,000 mouths would have required tens of thousands of acres of chinampas.  Is it any wonder that cirtually all of Lake Xochimilco became covered with soil-bearing?

Whatever remains of the Aztec capital now lies buried under Mexico City.

(monochrome picture are excepts from "Designing the Earth")

Process

Nowadays profession of landscape architecture is an industry as many other profession is.   Back yards, Open spaces, parks and even cities are design in short time by people who never were the site, and even might not know where it is...  Design process goes through systematized processes.  

 In any scale, there is a fixed system in a design process more or less, and it largely determines its design.  For example, I could even say that drawing plan is a part of system.  It is a great system that neatly capture a site, and allow you to work efficiently on a desk.  However, it also constraint the way you look at the site for some reasons including its two-dimensionality.  Many designer must understand where the obvious mistake you found on the site came from, when they think about its drawing on a plan.

In larger scale like international project, a design has to get through more layer of media ( I consider plan, for example as a medium), often making designer more indirect to its site. 

   In the lecture 7, Thad from Edaw talked about the way they work world wide.  what are the typical flow of design that Edaw apply, and how its process is allow them enhance and constraint their project?   Also, what are ideal design process for international project?  

Design Process 

Working world wide in a large firm like Edaw always involves many different organizations, and requires to work efficiently in a group and with other groups.  One has to respond various opinion from different people and adjust their way to direct their design.  

He first mentioned about some basic process 

Development plan ----  Documentation plan    (1 surface treatment plan, 2 planting plan, 3 construction plan)   and it requires a lot of interaction  within these processes, such as client, developer, government, engineer, environmental surveyer etc.. depending on project.

I list what I though important from his lecture here.

+ Your design has to be open for discussion.  

---It is not great idea trying to complete design by yourself.  Better to bring the sketch with/on butter paper in earlier stage.  I understand this very well, since i sometimes try to work on my design to make it look well before the design is fixed.  I pretty much fixed my design by myself if I really like it, and bring it as if it is completed one.  However, this probably reveal the idea that does not look for other's comment and do not accept.  It is important not to push the individual ego in designing public space. 

+Give best shot of your design in first stage.

--- It is good to start your idea in more idealistic way rather than compromise your design due to expected limit too much, such as budget, technical difficulties, workload etc.  Off course, you have to consider these constraint; however, You have to push your design based on what you believe, and draw it back as it is necessary.  For instance, you may wanna push ecological function though it has more initial cost.

+Bring them all.

---If you have more ideas or option in our design, you should test them out too.  Rather than trying to make a hard decision by yourself, see how each option goes, and take it with you.  your co-worker or client may have strong opinion, and also one option may turn out to be really solid idea through discussion.  It may also make your final design convincing to client.

+Educate them.

--- You may sometimes have to strategic to push your ecological design, educating client for sustainability. 

As you see these lists, his discussion was mainly about working with others.

Most importantly, He insisted on significance of face to face communication.   However hard to actually talk face to face with client or collaborator due to international project, it is really significant to meet them, and have communication as much as possible. I really agree with this, and I actually realize the idea that Thad is emphasizing on it from his attitude towards other people.   

I found issues of "locality" and " Cross-culture" as a keyword from his lecture.

These issues surrounding Globalization are already came up many times in my previous blog.

Back to my interest "learn from old",  I found that its practice in Landscape architecture is strongly tied with Locality and Cross-cultural discipline. 

I think it is important to look at historical/ traditional design at the site, since it carefully deal with its own environment.  Since there wasnt high technology that forcibly resist its natural environment in the past, and its technology has been continued for long time till it established as a Traditional, the looking at traditional technique will help you find a clue of design.  If you may see many of old technology in various places, you may find clue from other place that has same climate.  Since you work with "Cross-culturally", you may find get familiar with the old technologies from various area too.  

However, you never be able to apply that directly, without well considering "locality" such as environmental condition in the specific site that you have to design.    Although the area you are working and the area that you find a interesting technology from are similar in one parameter, for example, annual rainfall, same technique does not work if their temperature are totally different etc... Failure some times may attributed to religious belief too.  

Looking at the current progressive sustainable development in Middle East, I sometimes feel suspicious the gorgeous and futuristic design which perhaps came from nowhere for local people there.  

http://www.fosterandpartners.com/News/291/Default.aspx

"The first project as a result of the Masdar Initiative is a new 6 million square meter sustainable development that uses the traditional planning principals of a walled city, together with existing technologies, to achieve a zero carbon and zero waste community."

As it is mentioned above, Foster was asked to traditional walled city by local commissioner for its master plan, it maybe possible to develop innovative sustainable city, fused with unique local character by taking a code of "walled city".  It is a relatively good example, that local organization give framework for development to the international design firm.  I guess it is hard to determine how much its frame work it should be tight, or flexible.  If it is too abstract, its design came from again nowhere, but sounds like traditional by playing only on words. Also, it is worthwhile to look at how detail these framework are described.  I mean not only large master planning level, but developing for one lot.   This will be totally in subject of planning, but i understand that regulation/rule is indispensable to control development, once its policy are determined.  

Back to the original point of "Working internationally/collaboratively" by Thad, again it is important to respond what you are asked for and be open for many different comment rather than create amazing stuff by yourself.   I understand that we are not artist to create own work.  We are landscape architect to design a filed for public and nature.  Good design for public must be came up by designing with public.  The process that involving others, and input others largely affects its result.   There is not product.  Finished design also process that public interact in their daily life and process to educate ecosystem.  

I would like to look at the design which constantly affect public (sub)conscious for ecosystem as process. 

Agriculture modifies land by interacting with nature within people's daily activity, poducing food.  The landscape created for its function are closely linked to what I mentioned above.

Process.  Product.   

I will look at some example in next blog....

Inter-disciplinarity

This is a diagram shows one approaches to sustainability science from the landscape ecology as a transdisciplinary end(Wu, 2006,Landscape ecology, cross-disciplinarity, and sustainabiliy science).   He points out five basic reasons that landscape ecology contributes significantly on sustainability.  

1. Human landscape is considered as a basic spatial unit for studying and maintaining sustainability because it represents the smallerst scale where interaction between nature and society can be addressed.

2. Landscape ecology provide basis for dealing with biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in multiple scale.

3. landscape ecology already develop various approach to study nature-human interaction.

4. Landscape ecology offer method to study the effect of spatial heterogeneity and biophysical and socioeconomic configuration.

5. Landscape ecology procides both theoretical and methodological tool for dealing with uncertainty issue that are fundamental to most of the nature-society interaction. 

This is just an example of cross-disciplinary approach.  He brings landscape ecology as a one subject which incorporate various disciplines.

The lecture done by Dianne Moy was about cross disciplinary practice for sustinability.

However, It was bit difficult for me to summarize what she talked from this point of view, since she kind of talk many different projects for sustainability.  Also, issue about sustainability are always to do with cross disciplinary.  ( Nothing stands in one category once it is in society)

I guess that most of the people in our class understand this because many of us came from totally different backgrounds, which is kindda rare for master course.  I guess that we just need to understand nothing can be solved by yourself or within an profession rather than trying to be cross disciplinary so much.  We have to be open minded.

I will dig some issues from one of her lecture's keyword, Decentralization of infrastructure.

Decentralizing infrastructure, in my understanding, means self-sufficient way of life.

Off course, in the past, people live locally. However, as the time has gone, and technology developed, people take these technology advantage.  I remember that David Harvey talked about how development of transportation change our perception of time and space in his book, The Condition of Postmodernity. Bicycle, ship, car, train, airplane, rocket, and the internet, the development allowed traveling much longer distance in short time, and changed the distribution of product for its efficiency.  The efficiency is tricky term.  It is often efficient for certain person or purpose, but it is horrible way in different perspective.  Anyway, the current reality is quite centralized, for example, most of the product and food around us are produced in same places. 

 This is a diagram that I wrote before to show these situations.

   This film called "Corporation" examines nature, evolution, impact and possible feature of 

Business corporation.  This documentary film reveal some reality of centralized system in terms of place of production, power, and money.  It also disclosed how corporation externalize the harm.

   Main point of Urban Ecology is also not to externalizing the ecological foot print.  It is important to think they way to cope with their own waste within a city rather than sending everything in a one specific place for dump. It means that decentralizing the function and locally cycle energy, nutrients, and water as much as possible.     Landscape technology most of which recently came up are concerned to it; how to produce within a city, how to transform the waste, and hot to compromise the ecological footprint in situ. In fact many projects from the students that she talked in the class is also about production, and consumption.

These are some of landscape technology for those reason:Bio-remediation, energy production such as solar, water, wind,  biofuel etc, there are tons of research for energy production.

Eden Project is worthwhile to look at.

It is a large scale environmental complex in Cornwall, UK where it is reclaimed china clay pit. The complex includes two giant, transparent domes made of ETFE cushions, each emulating a natural biome, that house plant species from around the world.

(retrieved from wikipedia)

It is not only a ordinary botanical garden, but it emphasizes on art and education, organizing many events as it is seen in its website.

To sum up,

looking at recent research for those energy production, I feel bit strange and doubt it like is this solution for our energy???   Transforming large forest to monoculture for specific bio-fuel plant, and Creating a lot of pond for algae production in the middle of nowhere is solution for alternative energy production?  Off course, further investigation of technology for alternative resources;however, what is most important thing for sustainability, I think is in individual responsible behavior in everyday life.  Primatologist Jane Goodall said that the difference between human and chimpanzee is the communication skill.  Human has highly developed communication skill, or Language. Dian's  Veil, Corporation, and Eden porject that I mentioned today, share communicating what is sustainability to many people using various languages in common.  Landscape architecture have potential to communicate this issue and enhance one's responsible behavior to it, utilizing our highly developed technology, or Design languages.

Back to my original interest "learning from old technology", how can I relate this issue...??

VCU_composter

I heard  that botanical garden at sydney adopt huge composter at the site.

The waste stacked from the top transformed and came out as a fresh soil from at the bottom.

The machine is called VCU, "an in-vessel aerobic composting system suited to processing biological waste in small to medium sized municipal and industrial application" (website of VCU Europa ltd).

The tempature ranges from 40~70c.    

There is no reason to use this kind of machine at many different site and show its process, but it needs to be designed to be improved aesthetically...

Picture retrieved from vcutechnology.com