Dealing with ooding areas
Creating ecological ooding areas in combination with public parks.
Francis Hofmans
1 MIRA Urban Project Landscape Architecture [H03N1a] Prof. Viviana d’Auria
2016 – 2017
e current society has to deal with a lot of ooding problems. e ooding of rivers is something which happens more and more. e ongoing global warming and all the paved cities are just two aspects which are at the root of these problems. e municipality has to search for solutions. In doing this it is important that cities and landscapes are resilient and adaptable to these changing environmental in uences. is paper will compare “Lifelines”, a project by Openfabric in Berat (Albania), to “Yanweizhou Park”, a project by Turenscape in Jinhua (China). e comparison is based on a number of principles in designing landscape architecture. ese principles were investigated and given to us by Bernadette Blanchon and Catherine Szántó.
Fig. 1. Masterplan “Yanweizhou Park” by Turenscape.
Fig. 2. Masterplan “Lifelines” by Openfabric.
|2
Scales
e idea about landscape architecture has changed a lot through time. Landscape architects have to look at the di erent scales of the surroundings. Bernadette Blanchon explained that during the boom years (1945-1975) a lot of public housing services were designed. ey didn’t really think about implementing the landscape. e focus lay in the design of the modern, functionalistic, housing unit. Some people, like Henri Pasquier, were looking for ways to make these districts livable and connect them to the larger periphery by designing the landscape within.1
“Lifelines” is working on a very small area, but has an impact on a much larger scale. ey did research on di erent aspects and came to the conclusion that there are risks in the larger area, for example erosion risk, economic risk, heritage risk, …2 One of the main goals is to let the urbanities interact with the river as a public space, with di erent programs. By implementing some “ xed” elements, which create “ xed” spaces, they o er quite some new “temporary” spaces, which can be used in all di erent kinds of manners, depending on the weather and the water level.3
Flood Risk
Fig. 3. “Lifelines”: Flooding risk (project marked in red).
“Yanweizhou Park” is also working on a larger scale. It is not only a solution for the ooding problem, but wants to be something more for the city, it wants to be part of it. e design of the pedestrian bridge, which is linking the di erent districts to the park, is based on the local tradition of dragon dancing during Spring Festival.4 e bridge symbolizes this cultural aspect and supports the identity of the city.
Fig. 4. “Yanweizhou Park”: Pedestrian bridge.
1 Blanchon, B. (2016). [lecture] KUL 1 BB OK 2016.pdf, pp. 40-51.
2 Garofalo, F. (2016). [lecture] Openfabric_mahsmausp_Leuven_students.pdf, pp. 43-49.
3 Openfabric, (2015). Lifelines. [online] Available at: www.openfabric.eu/projects/lifelines-berat-albania/ [Accessed 24 Nov.
2016].
4 Turenscape, (2014). A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [online] Available at: www.turenscape.com/en/ project/detail/4629.html [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
|3
Connecting
An important principle that is both mentioned by Bernadette Blanchon and Catherine Szántó is connecting. Connecting in all kinds of ways, for example connecting the city to nature. is is a trend that can already be seen in the public parks of the 19th century.5 Until then there mostly were private gardens, but they started to think in another way by creating public parks. e city was in need for green areas. Frederick Law Olmsted was interested in the landscape and how it could let the city work in a healthy way.6
is aspect can be found in “Yanweizhou Park”. e park is located where the Wuyi River and Yiwu River converge to form Jinhua River. e densely populated city is devided by these three rivers. e Yanweizhou region, where a number of cultural facilities like the opera house can be found, wasn’t well connected to the city.7 e pedestrian bridge that crosses the 100 meter wide river xes this problem and connects the people to this green area. Initially the municipality had built concrete walls as a ood protection, but this destroyed the natural ecosystem of the area.8 e project replaced these concrete walls with a terraced embankment. By doing this the people are reconnected with the waterfront.
Fig. 5. “Yanweizhou Park”: Topographic map and section.
5 Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161125-ref autres-web.pdf, pp. 63-95.
6 Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161125-ref autres-web.pdf, p. 92.
7 Turenscape, (2014). A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [online] Available at: www.turenscape.com/en/
project/detail/4629.html [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
8 Hobsen, B. (2015). Terraces of plants in Yanweizhou Park “control oods in an ecological way”. [online] Available at: https:// www.dezeen.com/2015/12/07/terraces-of-plants-yanweizhou-park-control-floods-ecological-turenscape-landscape-architecture- china/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2017].
|4
e same idea can be seen in “Lifelines”. Openfabric wants to create an interdependency between the city and the river. e Osumi Island, which is continuously transforming by the waterlevel, will be the centre of the idea. By implementing a “frame”, which is connected to the mainland, they want to rede ne the public space and the connection to nature. 9
Fig. 6. “Lifelines”: Di erent uses of the public space depending on the weather and the water level.
Both projects want to be a catalyst for the city and the use of public space within the city, just as Olmsted wanted to achieve in Central Park.10 He wanted to change the idea about how people live in the city. e public park is open to all social levels, so it doesn’t only connect the city to nature, but it also wants to connect the city to itself.
e idea of connecting the city to itself and to nature is found in quite a lot of recent projects. In Saint-Denis11, Boston12, Seoul13 the city was devided by a highway. In other cases, like in Paris14 and New York15, the city was cut in two by a railway. ese are only some of the examples, explained by Catherine Szántó, where nature plays a very important role as a catalyst to reconnect the city.
9 Openfabric, (2015). Lifelines. [online] Available at: www.openfabric.eu/projects/lifelines-berat-albania/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
10 Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161125-ref autres-web.pdf, pp. 65-84.
11 Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161216-contemporary issues.pdf, pp. 85-93.
12 Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161216-contemporary issues.pdf, p. 94.
13 Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161216-contemporary issues.pdf, pp. 95-105.
14 Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161216-contemporary issues.pdf, pp. 110-121.
15 Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161216-contemporary issues.pdf, pp. 122-159.
|5
Biodiversity
Plants and owers have always been an important element in landscape architecture. Bernadette Blanchon talked about the vision of Karl Plomin. A vision which will be implemented later in the work of Ingrid Bourne. “His main objectives, to which Ingrid remained loyal throughout her practice, were to ensure balanced ecological plant combinations and a sense of well-being in his gardens. e plant was not considered as a material but as a living being, deserving respect. is basic principle also was to lie at the heart of Ingrid Bourne’s work.”16
Both “Lifelines” and “Yanweizhou Park” have investigated the local biodiversity and searched for ways to ensure it. “Lifelines” made some criteria for selecting the planting species. e most important one is that all the species have to be part of the local landscape. Since they are dealing with a ooding area, they have speci ed this criteria into three subcriteria. e rst are plants and trees which stand above the water level. e second are plants on wet soil, they will be planted in the ooding area and will be temporarily under water. e third subdivision are plants which are constantly on wet soil and are o en ooded.17
Fig. 7. “Lifelines”: Cut and ll methode. e same idea is used in “Yanweizhou Park”.
One of the design strategies to achieve a resilient landscape in “Yanweizhou Park” was to make full use of the existing terrain with a minimum of intervention. e idea was to preserve the existing natural vegetation, and allow it to evolve through time. Because the area is allowed to ood, there is no longer a need for irrigation or fertilization at any time. e oods bring silt, which is deposited in the ooded area, serving the necessary nutrients for the vegetation to grow.18
Fig. 8. “Lifelines”: Investegating the di erent plants. Fig. 9. “Yanweizhou Park”: Terraced embankment consists of the local biodiversity.
16 Blanchon, B. (2015). Creative Margins. In: S. Dümpelmann and J. Beardsley, ed., woman, modernity and landscape architecture, 1st ed. Londen and New York: Routledge, p. 105.
17 Openfabric, (2015). Lifelines. [online] Available at: www.openfabric.eu/projects/lifelines-berat-albania/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
18 Turenscape, (2014). A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [online] Available at: www.turenscape.com/en/
project/detail/4629.html [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
|6
Spaces
When looking at the investigation by Catherine Szántó on Versailles, a very important aspect is the idea of space and how space is interpreted. When walking around in Versailles, it is not always easy to understand where you are. ere are some important elements that add to this experience. e park has a lot of freedom and gives the visitor various choices. “ e multiplicity of possibilities of movement”, as Catherine Szántó calls it, plays a huge role in this experience. It makes a relation between ‘here’ and ‘there’. e ‘here’ can be de nied as the place where we are now, the views we have, the objects that are around us and the things we can feel. e ‘there’ on the other hand is dealing with objects that are further away from us, views we can have if we go there and the feeling that we can reach ‘there’. Another way of looking at this is by relating the satisfaction of the ‘here’ with the desire of going ‘there’.19
A similar idea was realised in Stourhead.20 e garden is much smaller, there is only one path around the lake, but the path consists of openings from the woods and then goes back into the woods, so you will see new objects every time. It gives a certain experience when walking around.
In the design of “Yanweizhou Park”, the opera house, which was already there, played a very important role. e building with its very unique form made it di cult for the landscape architects. ey had to come up with some innovative forms to create resilient spaces which can handle the di erent programs. When there is an event in the opera house, there is a need for temporary, intensive use by a lot of people. e same space has to be adaptable, so it can serve in the daily use of visitors. It has to o er intimate and shaded spaces as well as larger spaces for groups.21
Fig. 10. “Yanweizhou Park”: Aerial view.
19 Szántó, C. (2010). A graphical analysis of Versailles garden promenades. Journal of Landscape Architecture, pp. 52-59.
20 Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161125-ref autres-web.pdf, pp. 16-22.
21 Turenscape, (2014). A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [online] Available at: www.turenscape.com/en/
project/detail/4629.html [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
|7
in the gardens of Versailles. Louis XIV had a very speci c walk through the gardens. An interesting
diagram by Catherine Szántó shows the relation between the path he took and the variation of light
ese shaded spaces take part in the experience. e use of light and shade was already implemented
along this path. Each part of the diagram is proportional to the length of the path in that direction.22
Fig. 11. Versailles: Louis XIV’s c. 1695 promenade itinerary on
the plan view of the garden at the time.
Fig. 12. Versailles: score of the light-and-shade experience of
the promenade of Louis XIV. Each portio n o f t h e w h e e l i n a
given tone is proportional to the length o f t h e p a t h w i t h t h a t
condition.
e experience of shade was already very important in the 17th century and still plays an import role when designing landscapes. Henri Pasquier uses it when he designs “Les Aubépins”.23 Bernadette Blanchon calls it “forestry techniques”. Vegetation is used to lter and screen the light and create a unique place with it’s own experience. is is something which will be used by Jacques Simon as well.
22 Szántó, C. (2010). A graphical analysis of Versailles garden promenades. Journal of Landscape Architecture, pp. 52-59.
23 Blanchon, B. (2016). [lecture] KUL 1 BB OK 2016.pdf, pp. 40-51.
|8
Ecology
e main principle that both projects share is to think about ecology. ey both deal with the problem of ooding in a similar way. e idea is not to block the water, but to let the area ood. It works as a bu er and it controls the oods in an ecological way. In “lifelines” they designed a structure, an embankment, which works as a horizontal lter. It consists of di erent layers, with di erent grain sizes. e water of the river is ltered before running into the water basin on the island. is lter, in combination with speci cally chosen vegetation, puri es the water within the island.24
Fig. 14. “Lifelines”: Section of the embankment which works as a horizontal lter.
Fig. 13. “Lifelines”: Di erent waterlevels.
One of the inner ponds in “Yanweizhou Park” works in a similar way. It is designed to let the river water in ltrate through the ground. is natural in ltration system has the advantage of biologically improve the quality of the water. e water in the pond is of such quality that it is even swimmable. All the paths and terraced embankement are oodable. ey are also designed in such a way that they deal with stormwater.25
Fig. 15. “Yanweizhou Park”: Aerial view of the park during the monsoon.
inking about ecology is a fast growing trend, it’s a must. It is dealing with one of the main problems of today. During the boom years, as Bernadette Blanchon calls it, the problem they had to deal with then was housing shortance. A lot of large masterplans and other concepts were created then. Landscape architects had to deal with these kinds of functionalistic masterplans. is shows that every period has to deal with di erent problems. Today, ooding and other problems due to global warming are more accurate then ever.
24 Openfabric, (2015). Lifelines. [online] Available at: www.openfabric.eu/projects/lifelines-berat-albania/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
25 Turenscape, (2014). A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [online] Available at: www.turenscape.com/en/ project/detail/4629.html [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
|9
References
• Beatley, T. (2011). Biophilic cities: integrating nature into urban design and planning. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
• Blanchon, B. (2015). Creative Margins. In: S. Dümpelmann and J. Beardsley, ed., woman, modernity and landscape architecture, 1st ed. Londen and New York: Routledge.
• Blanchon, B. (2007). Pratiques et compétences paysagistes dans les grands ensembles d’habitation, 1945-1975. [online] Available at: https://strates.revues.org/5723 [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
• Blanchon, B. (2016). [lecture] KUL 1 BB OK 2016.pdf.
• Blanchon, B. (2016). [lecture] KULEUVEN 2 2016 BB 2.2.pdf.
• Dezeen. (2015). Yanweizhou Park by Turenscape controls oods “in an ecological way”.
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBHsIQwnGM0 [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
• Ding, C. (2016). Should Los Angeles Transform Itself Into a Sponge City?. [online] Available at:
https://ahbelab.com/tag/yanweizhou-park/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2017].
• Frearson, A. (2015). World Landscape of the Year 2015 prize goes to Chinese wetlands park by
Turenscape. [online] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2015/11/06/turenscape-yanweizhou-
park-landscape-of-the-year-2015-award-world-architecture-festival/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
• Garofalo, F. (2016). [lecture] Openfabric_mahsmausp_Leuven_students.pdf.
• Hobsen, B. (2015). Terraces of plants in Yanweizhou Park “control oods in an ecological way”.
[online] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2015/12/07/terraces-of-plants-yanweizhou-park-
control- oods-ecological-turenscape-landscape-architecture-china/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2017].
• Kongjian, Y. (2016). A ood adaptive landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [online]
Available at: http://www.coac.net/paisatge/cat/mostrar_projecte.php?id_projecte=9635&lan=es
[Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
• Landezine, (2015). Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [online] Available at: http://www.landezine.
com/index.php/2015/03/a-resilient-landscape-yanweizhou-park-in-jinhua-city-by-turenscape/
[Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
• Openfabric, (2015). Lifelines. [online] Available at: www.openfabric.eu/projects/lifelines-berat-
albania/ [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
• Szántó, C. (2010). A graphical analysis of Versailles garden promenades. Journal of Landscape
Architecture.
• Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161028-ref Versailles-web.pdf.
• Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161125-ref autres-web.pdf.
• Szántó, C. (2016). [lecture] Szanto-KUL-landscape-20161216-contemporary issues.pdf.
• Turenscape, (2014). A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [online] Available at:
www.turenscape.com/en/project/detail/4629.html [Accessed 24 Nov. 2016].
| 10
Image references
1. Turenscape, (2014). A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [image] Available at: www.turenscape.com/en/project/detail/4629.html [Accessed 3 Jan. 2017].
2. Openfabric, (2015). Lifelines. [image] Available at: www.openfabric.eu/projects/lifelines-berat- albania/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2017].
3. Garofalo, F. (2016). [image] Openfabric_mahsmauwsp_Leuven_students.pdf, p. 44.
4. Dezeen, (2015). World Landscape of the Year 2015 prize goes to Chinese Wetlands park by
Turenscape. [image] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2015/11/06/turenscape-yanweizhou-
park-landscape-of-the-year-2015-award-world-architecture-festival/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2017].
5. Landezine, (2015). Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [image] Available at: http://www.landezine. com/index.php/2015/03/a-resilient-landscape-yanweizhou-park-in-jinhua-city-by-turenscape/
[Accessed 5 Jan. 2017].
6. Openfabric, (2015). Lifelines. [image] Available at: www.openfabric.eu/projects/lifelines-berat-
albania/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2017].
7. Garofalo, F. (2016). [image] Openfabric_mahsmauwsp_Leuven_students.pdf, p. 51.
8. Openfabric, (2015). Lifelines. [image] Available at: www.openfabric.eu/projects/lifelines-berat-
albania/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2017].
9. Turenscape, (2014). A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [image] Available at:
www.turenscape.com/en/project/detail/4629.html [Accessed 3 Jan. 2017].
10. Turenscape, (2014). A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [image] Available at:
www.turenscape.com/en/project/detail/4629.html [Accessed 3 Jan. 2017].
11. Szántó, C. (2010). [image] A graphical analysis of Versailles garden promenades. Journal of
Landscape Architecture, p. 56.
12. Szántó, C. (2010). [image] A graphical analysis of Versailles garden promenades. Journal of
Landscape Architecture, p. 58.
13. Garofalo, F. (2016). [image] Openfabric_mahsmauwsp_Leuven_students.pdf, pp. 55-57.
14. Openfabric, (2015). Lifelines. [image] Available at: www.openfabric.eu/projects/lifelines-berat-
albania/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2017].
15. Turenscape, (2014). A Resilient Landscape: Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City. [image] Available at:
www.turenscape.com/en/project/detail/4629.html [Accessed 3 Jan. 2017].
| 11