make no small plans

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.

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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

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make no small plans

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