Two papers will be presented in CAADRIA 2024
MULTISPECIES BUILDING ENVELOPES : Adopting plant habitat suitability mapping for ecological design decision-making - Led by Surayyn Selvan
Abstract:
Rapid urbanisation catalyses habitat loss and fragmentation which negatively impacts humans and urban biodiversity. To mitigate this, multispecies building envelopes offer ecosystem services by fostering cohabitation between humans and non-human species. In an ongoing research project, the initial envelope designs are optimised and evaluated using a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model informed by key performance indicators (KPIs). While employing human-centric KPIs is a common architectural practice, non-human KPIs are rarely considered for ecological design evaluation. In this paper, we address this by proposing an architectural approach that adopts aspects of plant habitat suitability modelling (HSM). The approach correlates environmental conditions with ecological data such as species functional traits to derive proxies for plant KPIs. Using the hybrid MCDM model, we utilise these proxies to optimise an envelope case study and identify the best-performing alternative. This alternative is compared with an alternative optimised using implicit plant KPI proxies derived from ecological associations. With a reduced search space, results show that the proposed plant HSM aided in achieving improved trade-offs by accounting for the variations in the selected plant functional trait values.
Coastal Infrastructure Design: Researching Sea-Waves and Textured Surfaces Interaction Using Physical and Virtual Wave Flumes - Led by Roy Kozlovsky, Yasha Grobman, Hanna Levi and Roy Kozlovsky
Abstract:
Projected global rise in sea level and intensification of storms place the shoreline at risk, requiring extensive investment in coastal defence infrastructure. These structures are designed according to engineering criteria of efficiently dissipating wave energy at the expense of ecological and landscape values. The aim of the research is to establish a multifunctional approach to coastal infrastructure. Within this framework, it proposes a method for utilising simulation tools to creatively shape the interaction of sea waves with coastal structures for scenic and ecological benefits. It sets two primary goals: to establish that computational fluid dynamics tools can be used by architects to design the interaction of sea-waves with solid surfaces. This goal is explored by creating a digital simulation of a physical wave flume facility, and running physical experiments to calibrate the virtual simulation tool. Secondly, it uses these tools to systematically explore the range of possibilities latent in wave-structure interaction by initiating basic research into the flow properties of different types of textured surfaces to improve the aesthetic and ecological performance of such structures.