Final exhibition

The course is all wrapped up now that the final Appropriate Durable Record is handed in and the exhibition has been closed. Though project 'Terra Strata' does not feel complete. Whilst I came up with a design approach which does critique the current policy and rehabilitation practice, transforming an open cut coal mine as large as Loy Yang is and also continues to expand, it was difficult to translate a design for any one given period in time. This is something I'm still interested in pursuing.

The below images are of the exhibition held 24th October to 4th December.

Exhibition set up

Presentation of project

1:10,000 scaled plaster model of design

Plinth with models

Hanging plastic molds used to cast plaster models

Vegetation samples

Scale and models

Currently the project is gearing up for end of year presentations and exhibition.
The last few days I've been making a larger contour model (which has had issues with warping), to then make a plaster caster model to show the transforming state of an open cut mine.
A few images to represent...

Site scale comparison to Melbourne CBD - I knew the mine was large but putting it into context really demonstrates this

Part of contour model requiring clamps to correct warping

Card contour model in 3 portions

Vacuum formed model

Mid-semester presentation

Terra Strata

/Design gesture in mining reclamation

How do I engage ecological process as an instrument to design the transformation of an open cut coal mine to generate a multi-functioning landscape park?

 

There are three open cut brown coal mines in the Latrobe Valley which are due to be closed in the next 20 to 30 years. Upon closure, these sites are required by law to be rehabilitated. This denotes restoring land to its previous use, which is vastly different to the condition subjected by 30 to 80 years of excavation.

The closure plans for all three mines are minimal in reformation and propose flooding of the pits to create a lake. This plan might be 100 years in the making and does not consider transformation of the site for socio-economic value. Design alternatives critique rehabilitation policy which enables current practice to form a homogenous landscape with limited potential.

The design research investigates current site and operational conditions at the Loy Yang mine to test design pragmatics, whilst phasing programs where favorable conditions ensue. Ecological stability and diversity is sought in the design to open up long-term options for alternative land use, investment or acquisition.

The park aims to serve as a tool for remediation between the community and the potential of the landscape to meet future needs, aiding long-term management and funding. This enables mining conglomerates to relinquish the site and their financial obligations at the expiration of their mining license, acting as a driver for current rehabilitative practice. This approach through the discourse of landscape architecture gives rise to a new precedent in mining reclamation.

By engaging ecological processes, programs and aesthetics as the driving factors for transformation, a design gesture emerges that projects the site condition beyond what is legally required, beyond the boundary of the site and investigates a post-industrial landscape that is Australia’s future.

Left presentation panels

Right presentation panels

 

 This diagram attempts to map out a financial model, from land acquisition, mining operations to rehabilitation/reclamation of the mine. Rehabilitative works are economically led and unless there is a way to increase the land value, reclamation is kept to a minimum. 

My research project is trying to configure a proposal where, under the framework and maintenance of a 'park', the site is reclaimed ecologically, socially and for economic benefits.

Photo montage of remnant infrastructure in use for access and forming post-industrial park aesthetic

Photo montage of open cut pit in process of re-vegetation with some batters left raw for weathering

3d model with slope alteration sections cut from north-side mine batters

Detail of altered sections with alteration to batters (slopes) 'hinged' from existing haul roads. As these roads provide access and fire-service pipes, some need to remain within the design proposal to provide safety pragmatics.

From study of existing species both within the site and in the nearby nature reserve, vegetation can start to self-colonise once slopes have been stabilised and grassed. Tracks for recreational programs can be established when the need arises.

Scale and transformation

This is me in the foreground and the lines indicate where I would fit in the controllers room beside the bucket-wheel. The length of the excavator is 160m from the bucket-wheel to the conveyor. Loy Yang power station is in the background.

How do I design the transformation of this open cut brown coal mine to allow ecological systems to be restored?

What is the resulting landscape?

The soil profile must be built up from layers of decomposing leaf and woody debris. The above images show this build up from a grey sandy loam to native lowland forest that has been established over a 3 year period after fires burnt through the area early in 2009.

Traralgon South Flora & Fauna Reserve (http://www.protectedplanet.net/sites/Traralgon_South_Nature_Conservation_Reserve_Flora_Reserve) is on the south boundary of Loy Yang. I mountain biked through this area on 2nd September to investigate the the occurrence of native vegetation in proximity to the mine. Taking to the tracks by bike was a great way to study a large area where ecological systems control how this park operates. Albeit it is still managed by controlled burning, easements and areas for logging.
Vegetation was most diverse in grassed areas. I haven't identified all the species yet but coreas, wattles and then blackwoods were growing (and flowering) in abundance. These are species that are naturally self-perpetuating.

The tracks (4wd and single track) are fantastic for mountain biking in the park. I had so much fun exploring and getting a little lost.

Central track dividing the flora and fauna reserve from the blue-gum and pine forestry plantation

Epacris impressa - Common Heath

After the trip to the mine, I went further afield to Tarra Bulga national park to see the conditions of a wet sclerophyll forest. Coal deposits in the Latrobe Valley are meant to have come from tall open forests similar to that of Tarra Bulga.

view from Mt Tassie

Lookout from top of Redhill down to Loy Yang

Scenic track, Tarra Bulga National Park

Corrigan's swing bridge, Tarra Bulga National Park

Model reflections: making sense of research direction

Plaster cast model after a 'rain' event

Digital model with simplified slopes

(arduous) process of transforming the slopes to create 'gestural' formation

The plaster cast models have enabled:

-       An understanding of scale and the ‘carving’ process of both mining and re-grading within the open-cut

-       Importance of retaining the hard edges for the sense of scale within the site as well as retaining a historical  indication of how the site has been formed

-       Water shedding collects in several area of the site: open-cut pondage, perimeter of OB and the wetlands

-       I cannot objectively design how run-off into the open-cut will occur due to the scale of the site, but I can design to allow for it to alter the form over a course of time

The initial objective in sculpting the models was to develop a schematic for producing a master plan for a park that encompassed site boundary. The way in which I was considering the park was through access and the type of program, mainly walking or biking. Working with the models enabled me to grapple with the whole site and I discovered that not everything could be ‘designed’ at the extent of the site. From this I then questioned;

-      What needs to be designed?

-      How can I design to enable management of unknown phenomena[1]? Or,

-      How can I design to enable establishment of ecological systems that will transform the site?

-       What do I need to design in a large scaled industrial site that facilitates:

-       Establishment of ‘stabilising’ eco-systems

-       Public accessibility and recreation[2]

-       Retention of industrial design gestures to create tension with present systems

[1] Phenomena = weather patterns, living conditions; in an infinite time frame

[2] Recreation = enjoyment of site in a non-prescribed form

What makes the site interesting is the degree of control forced upon the site with machinery, to alter it. This tension exists today partly due to the lack of accessibility to it/or separation from the site. This can be retained through placement of viewing platforms which allow a person to experience the scale of which a human on its own, does not operate at. The site is so large that you drive around it as opposed to walking and the large scale of machinery is lost in perception to the scale of the site. If you walked or biked around the site the sense of scale would be heightened due to experiencing it in the 4^th dimension (time).

The difficulty in writing an abstract at this time is due to the shift in hierarchy driving the project. Previously programs were investigated to test re-formation of the OC and OB. This could occur at a linear point in time. This method I now find much prescribed in the allocation and use of space. This is a point which I questioned in the Fresh Kills project. When a design is trying to schedule transformation of space or phase in/out programs, prescribing specific programs causes a space to become static.

What is driving the project design is ‘transformation’. This is the ‘how’ of the project. Taking it from the existing, to a new design.

How, what and why am I designing?

Ecological processes are not static upon a site. Allowing these to work within a project can transform the quality of systems by re-balancing them and create diversity. Diversity of vegetation and of programs is something I want to enhance in the design. 

• Digital models

The digital model starts to work out scaled dimensions of slopes. However, gestures begin to appear refined as the scale of transformation that I am trying to impose on the design seems impossible. The scale of the site and the concentration on a smaller section of the open-cut needs to be worked on to demonstrate only the main ideas, being; -

_-           contrast of controlled form and wear of natural processes

_-           accessibility

_-           changed in form and conditions

_-           view points   

After a week of working on digital models and thinking of stable slope gradients, the design gesture seems lost which I was able to carve from the plaster models. Without a severe quantity of in-fill, other means need to be investigated to enhance the design of a ‘park’. With establishing a vegetation scheme to lead the stabilisation and visual transformation, the aim is to start small and grow.