Green infrastructure (GI) design has been advocated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an ecological way to manage stormwater for better water quantity and quality. This new drainage design paradigm focuses on maintaining the natural hydrologic cycle and suggests treating runoff on-site in lieu of the old paradigm that prefers off-site treatment. This paper reports the performance benefits of GI design implemented in Daybreak, a 4,100-acre master-planned community in Utah, USA. Daybreak is also known as one of the largest GI projects in the arid west. Its GI design retains 100 percent of stormwater that falls on-site for up to a 100-year storm with no impacts on or connections to the municipal storm sewer system. Further, an ongoing water quality monitoring study is assessing the hydrologic performance of two sub watersheds within the community. Preliminary results show the performance benefits of a large bioswale. These benefits include substantial reductions of stormwater runoff volume and pollutant concentrations, including total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total suspended solids (TSS), and heavy metals (Copper, Zinc, Lead).
This article critiques the triple phantasms of authority, culture, and aesthetics in contemporary urban landscapes, and argues that landscape should return to its true value as a spiritual home of human life, rather than being a simulacra of extrinsic symbols.
This paper outlines the current development of low impact development (LID) techniques in China, and the application of LID strategies in Sponge City construction as advocated by the Chinese Central Government. Innovative approaches and evaluation methods for LID are studied in two projects: the design and construction of the Civil and Structural Engineering Buildings at Shenzhen University and the Guangzhou Education City Master Plan. The Ecological Technology Institute of Construction Engineering, Shenzhen University implemented both projects.
Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) complements the predictive approach of rating systems like the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) by evaluating performance over time. OLIN’s yearlong POE of SITES-certified Canal Park in Washington, DC documents broad metrics of social performance and specific questions of design intent using a mixed-methods approach.
In recent years, along with an increased awareness of ecology, the design of urban parks has been shifting towards providing ecological services. However, there is a dearth of case studies in this new typology. This article explores the characteristics of Ecosystem Service-Oriented Urban Park (ESOUP), establishes a post-occupancy evaluation system, and by using Tianjin Qiaoyuan Park as a case study identifies the problems and solutions involved in the processes of design, construction, management and maintenance.
From August 2014 to December 2014, the Roosevelt Plaza Park brought flexible seating, trees, umbrellas, flowers, public art, and conversation starters to downtown Camden’s central public space. As a temporary installation, the Pop-Up park was meant to enliven the existing park and encourage residents, employees, students, and visitors to spend time outside in the city. For downtown Camden, the Pop-up is an entirely new type of public space, meant as an experiment to guide future public space investment. Using time-lapse photography, the design team recorded how users interacted with the space. Data collection was used to see which elements of the park worked best, and which could be improved. Findings were summarized to guide future park improvements.
Over the past decade, Chueca Square in Madrid has been transformed into a new public space using lighting and color. Sergio SebastiÁn Architects has been invited to Chueca Square since 2004 and has installed three different schemes — Confetti, Streamers and Garlands— that use light and color to bond city and citizen. Feedback from residents and visitors, and post occupancy evaluation, were important factors for the subsequent projects. These three installations, considered as a group, help define a new way of working in public space design over time, rather than isolated interventions.
The 4.9-kilometer waterfront promenade is a key pedestrian connector for the future Punggol Waterfront Town. In addition to the promenade, other design improvements include an arrival plaza next to the existing beach, water lily pond, fishing platforms leaning over the water edge, rest shelters, and a viewing deck. Environmentally friendly materials such as GRC simulated timber, laterite and oxidized steel were used throughout the project.
In 2013, SWA formalized the review of past projects in the Post-Occupancy Initiative. This effort was inspired by the need to develop rigor in evidence-based design and understand the historical impact of past projects. Since then, SWA has reviewed 20 projects, with ten more currently under review. Building on the work of the Landscape Architectural Foundation's case studies program and research methods from facilities management professions, we have developed a framework for project assessment, and are in the process of developing a value-added fee-for-service post-occupancy phase. At the same time, there have been logistical, ethical, and legal challenges this initiative has had to overcome to be meaningful. As a global practice focused on innovation, this program provides a critical review of the results of our design experimentation. These lessons have already impacted on how we design and detail our current work.
Landscapes are dynamic systems. When landscape architects design, detail, and construct projects they set the framework for the long and ever-changing life of a landscape. After thirty years of building landscapes all over North America, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) has learned that aftercare begins during the design process and that the best designs are flexible enough to accommodate changes and conditions that may only reveal themselves once users move in, plantings begin the process of establishment, and others start to care for the project. Teardrop Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park are two defining projects in the history of MVVA, and both have offered unique opportunities to participate in strategic planning for long-term care and management. By considering Teardrop Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park as case studies, this article will look at the ways in which MVVA has taken an active role in planning for long-term maintenance and post-occupancy evaluation to respond to changes, needs, and desires that improve the endurance of design. In both projects the establishment of a park conservancy has been a key instrument for maintaining close attention on the ground, and for continuing the link between designer, client, and site. This study will present lessons learned through both the design process and post-occupancy to understand the role and opportunity for ensuring the enduring legacy of landscapes.