Fostering Sustainable Land Design & Revitalization
The aim of this project was to help Coalfield Development advance sustainable land design and revitalization while fostering workforce development. This was achieved through investigating rainwater harvesting and reuse solutions and associated planning, design, and implementation strategies for a space in West Virginia, USA.
This project considered permeable paving to mitigate the effects of stormwater runoff and advance placemaking strategies as a means to enhance the multi-functional nature of a site at West Edge.
The scope of the project included reviewing existing conditions and possibilities for green infrastructure geared toward water management & retention onsite at West Edge, understanding Coalfield workforce development capacities in construction, and conducting interviews with relevant internal and external partners.
Based on the research, a prototype and site plan was developed with permeable interlocking pavers, concrete grid pavers, and vegetation as the key surface treatments to manage stormwater flooding in the area. This intervention, coupled with the growing module, would provide tools for rainwater harvesting, growing, packing, and gathering. The catchment surface that receives rainfall directly would comprise polycarbonate sheets to ensure unpolluted runoff. Rainfall would then be conveyed through PVC gutters and downpipes into plastic reservoirs.
Render of the growing module. Attribution: Joan Pearl Nalianya
Site planning strategy for permeable paving. Attribution: Joan Pearl Nalianya
