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Productive Eco-Infrastructures
Future Proofing Car-Parks'
Jiyun Lee, Yohan Wadia, Lucas Zarzoso Hueck
This studio project is concerned with presenting architects, planners, and government agencies with guidelines on the repurposing of car parks into productive ecological infrastructures. The guidelines determine how such infrastructure typologies - ranging from rooftop and recirculating farms, to community gardens, vertical parks, and green facades - can be tailored to the needs of a specific neighbourhood and how these can be implemented in accordance to the architectural characteristics of a carpark.
Step 1 // Analyse
1 // a
Analyse car-park suitability
When identifying a car-park think of criteria with respect to its environmental and architectural characteristics. Rooftop weight and strength, access to direct sunlight; slope and number of ramps; and space for growing practices, are important qualities that affect the suitability for conversion
1 // b
Analyse area suitability
Certain areas are most suitable for, and would benefit most from the adoption of productive eco infrastructure. Places with car-park density - and thus, opportunities for infrastructure extrapolation - as well as demographic diversity - and thus, user-group reach - present the most suitable setting for productive-eco infrastructure
Car-park density
Ethnic diversity
Production
Consumption
Environment
Education
Community
Economic diversity
Assess local ecosystem
Based on the local profile and demands of the neighbourhood in which the car-park is situated, a local ecosystem - in which the newly converted car-park could tap into - is identified. Importantly, in this ecosystem relevant stakeholders need to be established; and the corresponding practices in, and with the car-park identified
Plan hyper-local ecosystem
Identify another ecosystem but this time within the car-park itself. How do different levels of the car-park interact with each other, and in turn, with the neighbourhood it is located in? Define the different purposes of the levels of the car-park and identify its users and temporality. Subsequently, point out the necessary technologies and infrastructures to achieve the articulated goals.
Assess neighbourhood profile
What are the context-specific needs and demands of the neighbourhood in which the car-park is located? After sketching a neighbourhood profile, identify how the neighbourhood may benefit from productive eco-infrastructure.
2// a
2 // b
3// a
3 // b
Select typologies
Select a set of relevant typologies from the catalogue to be integrated in the car-park of choice. Reflect upon how these typologies contribute to the ecosystems (local and hyper-local) identified before. Consider the following typologies: beehives, urban farm, green facades and roofs, aquaponic farms, school gardens, community gardens, vertical farms, vertical parks, and botanical gardens
Design car-park
With steps 2a, 2b, and 3a in mind, design your car-park proposal. During the design process, engage in an iterative feedback process with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the converted car-park meets community and partner needs.
3 // c
What if all car-parks are converted into productive eco-infrastructure?
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