anchor

GRAFTED CYPRESS TOWER

//mediating the city edge with the natural swamp condition

Global sea level rise is projected to escalate drastically within the next century, which will increase storm surge and shoreline degradation along low-lying coastal margins. The increasing severity of rising sea levels, land subsidence, and storm surge in the Gulf Coast region will lead to considerable loss of developed land. By 2100, a rise of only a few meters will inundate thousands of acres of highly developed land, communities, and natural habitat along the southern coast. The Grafted Cypress Tower utilizes the strength of the swamp ecosystem to create a hybridized environment that supports residential units while also allowing the natural systems to flourish.

Status: School Project
Location: New Orleans, LA, US
My Role: Student; Group project with Margo Alleman
Additional Credits: Louisiana State University, Architecture Studio (Fall 2012)

_Coastal Wetland Degradation

The threat of future land subsidence is particularly imminent in the gulf coast region due to river control systems such as levees. The affects of levee systems on New Orleans cause continual tension between developed land and the surrounding ecosystems. The isolation created by the extreme control of the Mississippi River allowed New Orleans to spread development into the lower basins of the region, which had previously been flourishing cypress swamps. With the destruction of the cypress, New Orleans lost an important natural barrier along the edge of the city that provided protection from storm surge. In addition to the loss of cypress swamps, river control systems interfere with the seasonal flooding of the Mississippi and prevent sediment deposition from sustaining coastal lands, resulting in land subsidence.

_New Orleans Cypress Swamps

To speculate an adaptive habitation of the natural impermanent condition, built systems in this region must also acquire a dynamic quality. The Grafted Cypress Tower is an aggregation of built systems within the natural swamp environment that blurs the edge condition of a typical urban development. At a point in time where it is no longer effective to revive the lower basins of New Orleans (after continual flooding and storm surge), we propose a hybrid residential tower that provides a new way of living within the natural condition of the cypress swamp.

TREE CELLS; Image from: Koning, Ross E. 1994. Plant Basics. Plant Physiology Information Website. http://plantphys.info/plant_physiology/plantbasics1.shtml.

//bio-mimicry

For water and nutrients to get to the leaves of a tree, they must be collected by the roots and transported by the cell layers under the bark. The leaves then expel the water. For the Grafted Cypress Tower(s), the system mimics the natural tree system. Water from the reservoir is filtered, pumped up, and distributed throughout the structure. The water is then released as grey water back into the ecosystem to nourish the swamp.

//aggregation

_Early Aggregation Studies

Initially, the units took on a more organic form and drew inspiration from microscopic tree cells.

_3D models

3d models of early grafting studies crafted in Maya.

_Final Aggregate System

The system became more geometric the more we refined the design. The structure is composed of three polyhedral aggregate units that can be tessellated in a number of ways to create various combinations of living spaces and structural units.

//phasing

To regenerate cypress swamps in the lower basins and provide the flowing freshwater necessary for the trees to thrive, a river diversion will be constructed along the Industrial Canal at the edge of the Lower Ninth Ward. The structural units will be used to provide a foundation for topographic variations that when combined with freshwater flooding, creates the optimal condition for cypress trees to grow. As the cypress swamp increases in size, aggregate units will be grafted into the tree canopy, allowing them the necessary strength to support the tower structure. The aggregates are then utilized as housing units that can be tessellated, allowing the structure to grow in size according to the needs of the inhabitants. When displaced or damaged by natural elements such as storm surge, housing units can be easily replaced and recycled to other parts of the structure. This flexibility allows for a constantly evolving system to adapt to an impermanent environment. The resultant tower is a hybridization that functions with the benefits of both the natural and man-made.

//building system

_Panel System

_Tower System

The grafted structure can be implemented on the edges of the lower basins of New Orleans, creating a system of residential towers. Surrounding cypress swamps create a barrier to protect New Orleans from storm surge and provide a thriving natural ecosystem for native plants and wildlife. The Grafted Cypress Tower provides an innovative system of living in the lower basins of New Orleans that exists harmoniously within the environment and connects people to the natural swamp condition.