Constructed Wetlands: The Role of Technology in Restaging Nature
The project focuses on evaluating the role of technology in environmental reconstruction by examining the process of reconstructing wetlands based on the New Meadowlands resilient project, Los Angeles River Ecosystem Revitalization masterplan, and Kazımkarabekir Wastewater Treatment Plant Project case studies.
Wetlands have been recognized as sources of ecological values. They provide spaces for everyday recreation, contribute to biodiversity, and are important for managing environmental problems such as wastewater treatment and preventing water flood and erosion. With the aim of protecting natural values of wetlands while producing these values at the same time, human intention is constructing these landscapes in an efficient way to turning environmental technologies into a 'green' accumulation strategy (Swyngedouw 2015)
Reconstructed wetlands involve the use of technologies that are designed and constructed to utilize natural processes such as abiotic (physical/chemical) and biotic (microbial and plant uptake) removal processes (Van Deun 1994). These technologies are designed by multidisciplinary actors—engineers, landscape architects, and scientists—by examining the natural wetland system involving wetland vegetation, soils, and their associated microbial assemblages, aim to improve water treatment quality and restore wetland habitat for wildlife and environmental enhancement.
By examining three design manuals that include well-detailed information about types, functions, and components of constructed wetlands built by using recent technologies.—Melbourne Water wetland design manual 2005, Ohio Rapid Assessment Method for wetlands users manual 2001 and Design Guidelines for Urban Stormwater Wetlands 2018—I aim to understand the re-making nature process that Katz (1998) claimed as "it is a bigger project than ecological preservation or restoration. It is not at all about the entertainment, privatization, or authenticity” The project outcome is to make the role of technology visible through technical and architectural collage representation techniques and to develop constructed wetland proposals for the three cases examined.
These cases selected to focus on constructed wetlands built in different scales and functions; The New Meadowlands and Los Angeles River Ecosystem Revitalization study cases focus on the impact of the reconstruction of wetlands on the masterplan scale in the important regions such as New Jersey metropolitan area and California county in the U.S. On the other hand, the study case of Kazımkarabekir Wastewater Treatment Plant project's location is in Turkey, the middle eastern region and focus on small scale domestic wastewater treatment from rural settlements. For each case, it aims to analyze the different types of interaction between new infrastructures and a variety of wetlands and compare their approaches to restaging nature practices under the technological aegis.
The New Meadowlands. A Resilient Masterplan (2014)
New Jersey, U.S
For the first case, the New Meadowlands project is selected due to its critical location next to the residential and industrial areas, which is a high-risk flood zone which will only increase due to climate change within the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area.
The existing 7,800 acres of wetlands help to maintain the water levels and provide biodiversity, but especially the area which has an open connection to the Hackensack River requires an extension of wetlands with the new sufficient protective berm proposal.
As a response to this need, my proposal for case 1 focuses on the control of surface waters and to provide biodiversity with the surface flow constructed wetland. The surface flow constructed wetland type is selected because the appearance and function resemble the natural wetlands, control the surface flows while keeping the tidal effect, provide wildlife habitat availability. The critical point of the proposal is to offer different sizes of the protective berm for cut off the various tidal effects from seasoning flow to storm made from existing excessive soil and clay in the land integrated into the constructed wetland system and the overall ecosystem of the Meadowlands.
Los Angeles River Ecosystem Revitalization MasterPlan (2002-)
California, U.S
The revitalization project is selected for the second case due to understanding the impact of previous -channeling the river- technology proposed for the catastrophic flooding in the early 20th century and re-thinking how to reverse this impact with today's technology.
The revitalization masterplan focus is on L.A River biodiversity where 95 percent of in-stream riparian habitat within the river has been lost, as a consequence of urbanization and the channelization of rivers. Therefore, my proposal for case 2 focuses on the existing trapezoid concrete base to bring riparian habitat back into the restored river strip.
In this case, the horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland is proposed for wastewater treatment with the artificial pond that directs the flow on the existing trapezoid concrete base. However, these artificial ponds with the horizontal subsurface system are not sufficient for creating biodiversity and rather aim to control moving flood flows to the ocean as efficiently. Also, due to the slope being too high for the constructed wetland, it has been noticed that a new system is needed to create a sustainable riparian habitat. Therefore, the critical touch of this proposal is to deconstruct some parts of the restored river strip slope for both stepped vegetation terrain and recreational area where public access was previously prohibited.
Kazımkarabekir Waste Water Treatment Plant Project, 2015
Konya, Turkey
The third case is studied with the aim of analyzing the constructed wetlands system outside of the U.S and the small scale project like domestic wastewater treatment of rural settlements.
The case study is in Konya province which has a harsh continental climate and arid region and includes more than 48 constructed wetlands. The vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands are widely built for the treatment of domestic wastewaters of small settlements in Turkey. Additionally, the ecological cycle is achieved by evaluating the water obtained at the outlet, agricultural irrigation, and the plants planted as animal feed.
Due to the region's climate conditions, the vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland system is proposed for the application and reliability of these systems during domestic sewage treatment for this case.
Conclusion
The study of different design manuals that includes wetland typologies, construction details, created by making use of physical, chemical and biological processes; provided an understanding of the re-production of nature and how this production is decomposed into rational layers, almost like an architecture or machine production. In the production of constructed wetlands, nature can be conceived as a "nature as a machine",due to the similarities between modernist architectural understanding of "a house as a machine for living" (Le Corbusier 1927) such as, systematic analysis of existing conditions, the unity of the materials, usage of construction elements and rational approach to the determination of standards and functionality of design, etc.
As a response to the question of revaluation for wetlands in the case of constructed wetlands is a kind of “conversion of nature into an accumulation strategy” as urban studies scholars claimed (Katz 2005), and is realized through wastewater treatment and construction technologies.The wetland projects built based on this understanding are compared with their purpose, existing ecological conditions, and wetland construction technologies used (intended to be used) to develop design proposals suitable for each selected case. These proposals and the observed processes are represented with technical drawings and architectural collages to emphasize the role of the technology used and the rationality of this approach.
References
Swyngedouw, Erik. "Urbanization and Environmental Futures. Politicizing urban political ecologies" in Perreault,by T., Bridge and J., McCarthy., 611-615. London: Routledge, 2015
Katz, Cindi. "Whose Nature, Whose Culture; Private production of space and preservation of nature."In Remaking reality, by Bruce Bran, 42-63. London: Routledge, 1998.
"LA River Ecosystem Restoration | Los Angeles River Revitalization". 2012. Lariver.Org. https://www.lariver.org/blog/la-river-ecosystem-restoration
The New Meadowlands Revitalization Masterplan, 2014. Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the MIT Center for Advanced Urbanism.http://www.rebuildbydesign.org/data/files/672.pdf
“Hackensack Meadowlands District Master Plan Update to 2004,” 2020. https://njmc.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pdfs/master-plan-2020/draft-master-plan.pdf
“Strategies for Urban Stormwater Wetlands | MIT Center for Advanced Urbanism,” October 3, 2018. lcau.mit.edu/project/strategies-urban-stormwater-wetlands
Waterways Asset Management. “Wetland Design Manual,” July 2017. Waterways Asset Management. “Wetland Design Manual,” July 2017.https://www.melbournewater.com.au/sites/default/files/2017-12/Wetland-Design-Manual-PartA2.pdf
“Classification and Types of Wetlands | US EPA.” US EPA, May 19, 2020. https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/classification-and-types-wetlands#marshes
“Ohio Rapid Assessment Method for Wetlands v. 5.0 User’s Manual and Scoring Forms Ohio EPA Technical Report,” February 1, 2001. https://www.epa.ohio.gov/Portals/35/401/ORAM%20Manual%205.0.pdf
Cop, Mustafa. “Treatment Efficiency, Operating Problems, and Solutions for Constructed Wetlands in Konya Province,” 2017
Le Corbusier. Towards a New Architecture. 1985. Translated by Frederick Etchells. London: J. Rodker, 1931. Reprint New York: Dover Publications
Protective berm: is a raised barrier, usually made of compacted soil, constructed to protect the land from flooding or eroding, or
to control water drainage.“Berm - Wikipedia,” n.d. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berm
Riparian habitat: or riparian zone is a type of wildlife habitat found along the banks of a river, stream, or other actively moving sources of water such as a spring or waterfall.“What Is a Riparian Habitat and Why Do Birds Love It?” The Spruce, March 7, 2019.thespruce.com/riparian-habitat-characteristics-386910
