The Effects of Urban Developments on Native Plant Species in Melbourne
Added on 2021-04-16
44 Pages11538 Words401 Views
Architecture 1ARCHITECTUREBy NameCourseInstructorInstitutionLocationDate
Architecture 2AbstractEconomic developments are fast pushing the human population into cities leading to a rapidwipeout of the city greenery to create more spaces for the erections of buildings and otherfacilities aimed at maintaining the life in the new residential areas. Native plant species inMelbourne are found to be affected by these developments, which serve to replace the softnatural landscape with sterile landscapes of green spaces. The research aims at bringing back thelost greenery to the city by encouraging the integration of foodscaping in high-rise residentialbuildings. Precedent studies are used in this research to identify the design possibilities toachieve the goal considering the different systems in which this has been conducted before in thesame as well as different geographical contexts.
Architecture 3ContentsAbstract.......................................................................................................................................................2CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................41.1. Edible landscape...............................................................................................................................71.2. Research Question............................................................................................................................71.3. Aim...................................................................................................................................................71.4. Rethinking Urbanization and landscape, the edible landscape in cities and the threats to the urban edible landscape...........................................................................................................................81.5. Thesis Structure................................................................................................................................9CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................................11CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH BACKGROUND......................................................................................................123.1. Edible Urban Landscape.................................................................................................................123.2. Permaculture..................................................................................................................................123.3. Australian Edible Native Plants and Growing Conditions for Native Plants....................................133.4. Climate in Melbourne.....................................................................................................................153.5. Conservation of Australian Native Plants Growing in Cities............................................................163.6. Role of Architecture in the Conservation of Edible Native Plant Species in Cities..........................183.7. Systems (Growing, Maintaining, Harvesting)..................................................................................19CHAPTER 4: CRITICAL REVIEW OF SELECTED PRECEDENTS........................................................................214.1. Edible schoolyard, Brooklyn............................................................................................................214.2. Making the edible Campus-collaborative project of McGill University...........................................234.3. In Tokyo, A Vertical Farm Inside and Out........................................................................................244.4. Sky at One Central Park in Sydney by Jean Nouvel.........................................................................264.5. Newton Suites by WOHA................................................................................................................284.6. Medibank/ HASSEL.........................................................................................................................31CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH FINDINGS - PROPOSALS........................................................................................35CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................37References.................................................................................................................................................38
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Architecture 5CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONThe research aims at improving greenery in Melbourne (bringing back the lost greenery to thecity) to conserve Australian natural heritage (native plants) because the construction of buildingsconsumes Green spaces in the city. This is achieved through integrating edible landscape usingnative plants using appropriate systems in residential high-rise buildings in Melbourne. Theexpected outcomes are among the conservation of the native plants, restoration of the lost gloryof greenery, reduction in the stress by engaging in gardening among residents, increasesinteraction levels among the inhabitants of the residential buildings and above all increase accessand supply of quality food for the residents through foodscaping and helpful for students andtourists to study about natural heritage.Australia is one of such countries that are undergoing rapid urbanization with up to the tune of54% of her population residing in the cities[CITATION Ric17 \p 377 \l 1033 ]. With such apopulation proportion settled in the cities, the cities would need to expand in order to be able tosustain and provide for the necessary requirements. This results in urban sprawl in such cities.Urban sprawl refers to the movement of a population from a densely populated city or towns toresidential development of low density over more land that is rural. At the end of the day, thecity and its suburbs will spread to the neighboring geographical boundaries. As this happens,native plants remain to be a threat, as the rural land would clear to create more spaces forconstruction.In as much as urban sprawl comes with such benefits as the creation of local economic growth,the disadvantages associated with the trend are of dire consequences. Higher water and airpollution, loss of agricultural capacity, increased traffic jams, harmful effects on humans, loss of
Architecture 6natural habitat, open spaces, and wildlife, as well as increase car dependency, are among theeffects of urban sprawl[CITATION Noë14 \p 241 \l 1033 ]. Through urban sprawl, open spaces,farmland, parks, and habitats of wildlife remain at stake. Productive landscapes and naturalenvironment are converted to streets; parks and open spaces are converted to strip malls andhighways thereby leading to the elimination of numerous acres of open spaces, farms, and parks.As the sprawling highways and neighborhood consume the open spaces, the natural habitats offlora and fauna are engulfed and the open spaces are not spared either as they disappearunderneath the concrete thereby causing a major threat to the important ecosystems.This research is based in Melbourne, one of the cities in Australia. Of special interest with thecity is the tremendous expansion that it undergoes. The rate of the growth and expansion ofMelbourne has been established to be greater than Sydney[CITATION Ric06 \p 265 \l 1033 ] therebymeteoric rise in buildings construction can heavily be witnessed. The high growth and expansionrate comes with numerous economic benefits but still, the negative impacts of the growth of theenvironment cannot be ignored. Just like any other cities, Melbourne city has the CBD,residential areas, and natural areas. The Central Business District is the epicenter of the city andmainly consists of very tall buildings to maximize the available land in the area. The residentialareas form the large faction of the city and are areas that are used for housing and in theprovision facilities. The natural areas are the open spaces and offer the city dweller opportunities for recreation andsports. These areas also serve as the habitats for the native population of plants ensuring that theplant remains healthy and protected from potential damage or harm. It is estimated that up to70% of the new housing in Melbourne will be erected in the suburbs by the year 2032[CITATIONRic06 \p 254 \l 1033 ]. This means more natural and virgin land in Melbourne will be cleared and
Architecture 7sterile landscaping including pavements and highways will be the main vegetation cover. Mostof the vegetation that will be lost is the native plants thereby creating a risk of extinction of thoseplant species. Ecosystems will be lost as a result of the destruction of the vegetation. Still, Melbourne is of interest due to its unique climate in comparison with other cities inAustralia. The weather in the city is never predictable with the four seasons said to beexperienced in a day in Melbourne. Melbourne gets much hotter than the other cities in theeastern part of Australia during summer. The dry days never go for too long and are usuallyfollowed by spells that are pleasantly cooler. It is seldom heavy and humid in the city. Australiahas an environmentally unique land mass due to its geographical location and the flora and faunahave successfully managed to adapt to the prevailing environmental conditions[CITATION Ami12 \p 278 \l 1033 ]. The vegetation of the city can easily adapt to the ever-changing weather patterns.This makes maintenance very easy upon the introduction of the (native) plants as long as theyhave adapted to the prevailing conditions. This research is geared towards investigating how edible landscape can be integrated intoresidential high-rise buildings in Melbourne using Australian native plants. Introducing plantsthat are of health and economic benefits to the residents can be used as a strategy for introducingthe cultivating systems. Australian native edible landscaping can be used to encourage urbandwellers to grow homegrown food. Residents can use these plants for their culinary and/ormedicinal purposes. There are a wide variety of native plants in Australia of all colors, shape,and sizes.Many advantages are accrued by growing native plants among them the protection of theheritage. Australian native plants are best suited for this research as they are naturally adapted
Architecture 8and equipped to live in the local climatic conditions of the country[CITATION Ami12 \p 313 \l1033 ]. This means the plants would need no chemicals and less water in order to be grown intomature plants. Among the benefits that will come with growing the plants are environmentallyrelated and including reductions of the noise levels as well as cleaning up the surrounding air.Growing at individual levels, roof terraces used for community gardens and hydroponics areamong the techniques that will be used to achieve the aims of this research. The expectedoutcomes are among the conservation of the native plants, restoration of the lost glory ofgreenery, reduction in the stress of engaging in gardening among residents, increases interactionlevels among the inhabitants of the residential buildings and above all increase access and supplyof food for the residents through home gardening, helpful for students and tourists to study aboutnatural heritage and improve healthy environment in the city. 1.1. Edible landscape Edible landscape means refers to the incorporation of food plants within a decorative orornamental setting. It entails incorporating plants that produce food in the landscape. Anattractive design can be established through combining vegetables, edible flowers, fruit trees, nuttrees and shrubs with berries to produce vegetables and fruits that can be used for homeconsumption[CITATION Les131 \p 302 \l 1033 ]. 1.2. Research Question What are the most appropriate systems to integrate edible landscape using Australian nativeplants in urban residential high-rise buildings in Melbourne? 1.3. AimThe research aims at identifying the most appropriate systems that can be adapted to grow edibleplants in urban residential high-rise buildings
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