DESIGNING

DIVERSITY
MASTERS PRE-THESIS DOCUMENT

JAKE WEYRAUCH SPRING 2015

DESIGNING
DIVERSITY
MASTERS PRE-THESIS DOCUMENT

A study of how Architecture can serve as a

new armature for habitat and biodiversity
in the urban landscape.

CONTENTS
1.0 WHY 5
1.1 Urbanization
1.2 Biodiversity
1.3 Value
1.4 Biophelia
1.5 The State of Ecology
1.6 Reconciliation

2.0 WHERE 21
2.1 Milwaukee County Grounds
2.2 Resources of the Site
2.3 A Keystone Species
2.4 As Seen on the County Grounds

3.0 WHAT 43
3.1 Architectural Program

4.0 HOW 51
4.1 A Series of Nested Scales
4.2 Ecological Program Types

5.0 WHEN 69
5.1 Schedule of development and reviews

6.0 CASE STUDIES 75

5.1 Schedule of development and reviews

A.1 BIBLIOGRAPHY 78

DESIGNING
DIVERSITY
MASTERS PRE-THESIS DOCUMENT

1.0

WHY

6
1972

2011

Phoenix, AZ; Impervious surfaces such as roads, parking lots and rooftops in years 1997 and 2011. Source: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

1.1 URBANIZATION

PAVING THE WAY FOR HUMAN HABITAT

The number of people living in urban areas is greater now than

at any other point in human history. Even the last sixty-five
years has seen a dramatic increase from 30 to 54 percent of the
worlds population residing in these urban zones and by 2050 the
number is projected as high as 66 percent. (United Nations, World
Urbanization Prospects Report)

That the first 30 years of the

21st century is highly likely to
experience more urban land
expansion than all of history
suggests a considerableand
limitedwindow of opportunity
to shape future urbanization.
(Seto)

As the human population rises and

concentrates to urban areas, so too does
the architecture and infrastructure that
are the human habitat. The hard, flat
and impervious built environment that
man has fetishized for the last century
has amassed to nearly 50,000 square
miles in the US alone, 65% of which is
dedicated to the automobile.

33% of amp

hib

21% of fishe

Wyoming toad - Bufo baxteri

Longear sunsh - Lepomis megalotis

22% of mam

rtib

Northern blue buttery - Plebejus idas

Yellow-throated warbler - Setophaga dominica

21% of rept

iles
ned
eate
thr

hreatened
es t
rat

ten
threa ed
als
Cougar - Puma concolor

30% of inve

th
tened
rea

eatened
s thr
ian

ed
aten
hre

st

12% of birds

Queen snake - Regina septemvittata

1.2 BIODIVERSITY

FACING THE MASS EXTINCTION

Urban and suburban developments are swelling to accommodate

greater populations and it comes with a transverse response in
the ecological environment. As natural habitats are consumed by
the built environment the number of other species on the planet
is diminishing. According to the IUCN (International Union for
Conservation of Nature) it is estimated that the current species
extinction rate is between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than it
would naturally be.
The world is facing a glaring depletion of biological diversity
equivalent to the mass extinction that included the dinosaurs. As
diversity is lost, the functions of healthy natural systems also begin
to break down, changing the world as we know it indefinitely.

10

1.3 VALUE

ECONOMIC AND INTRINSIC

Humans are not removed from nor immune to the crisis of

biodiversity. Nearly all life-sustaining aspects of mans world rely
on the health of ecosystems around him. Goods and services as
basic as needs for food and medicine would not exist without
these networks. These are the products of biodiversity that directly
translate to both current and future economic value.
Conservation ecology is commonly argued for in terms of economic
value because it appeals to the fetish of greater society. However,
there is also a strong history of ecological philosophies, supported
by transcendentalists like Emerson and Thoreau, which argue that
nature has an intrinsic value outside of those assigned by man.
This value is much harder to measure and often falls into the
background when talking about the importance of biodiversity.

11

On September 26, 2011, about 12 million bees dropped dead in a single day in Brevard County, Florida.

YEARLY US FOOD PRODUCTION VALUE IN MILLIONS

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

ALMONDS
APPLES
APRICOTS
AVOCADOS
GRAPEFRUIT
LEMONS
ORANGES
CRANBERRIES
GRAPES
PEACHES
STRAWBERRIES
BROCCOLI
CUCUMBERS
CANTALOPE
PERCENTAGE OF CROP BEE-POLLINATED
PERCENTAGE OF CROP POLLINATED BY OTHER SOURCES

$600

$700

$800

$900

$1,000

$1,100

$1,200

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1.4 BIOPHELIA

VALUE FEEDBACK LOOP

One major conception of the intrinsic value of nature was explored

by E.O. Wilson in his 1984 book entitled Biophelia.
The gravitational pull of Nature on the human psyche can be expressed in a single, more contemporary
expression, biophilia the innate tendency to affiliate with life and lifelike processes. From infancy to
old age, people everywhere are attracted to other species. Novelty and diversity of life are esteemed
the more we come to understand other life forms, the more our learning expands to include their vast
diversity, and the greater value we will place on them and, inevitably, on ourselves. (Wilson)

Wilson argues that with urbanization and technological

development, man is losing the opportunity to stimulate a
primal piece of the human psyche. We have not lost the ability
to emotionally connect with nature, we have simply adopted the
arrogant notion that we no longer need to in our daily lives.

Significant resources are now being put into studies to show that
a reconnection of man with the natural environment can reclaim
benefits to human health, productivity, and happiness.


For instance, a study by Roger Ulrich, a Professor of Architecture
at the Center for Healthcare Building Research at Chalmers
University of Technology in Sweden, measured the influence that
a connection to nature had on patients recovering from gallbladder
surgery. While some patients were provided views of nature from
their recovery bed, others were provided only views of man-made
surfaces. The study found that those patients with a link to nature
recovered nearly ten percent faster than those that did not.

The economic implications of this alone are astonishing. With the
average cost of $5,060 per patient per day spent in the hospital
recovering from major surgeries, the healthcare industry (and
consumers) stand to save nearly 100 million dollars annually if the
average stay is reduced by a single day. (Machlin and Carper)

An extensive look at the known benefits of biophelia was published
by Terrapin Bright Green entitled 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design:
Improving Health and Well-Being in the Built Environment. In it
they compiled research that articulates the relationships between
nature, human biology and the design of the built environment
and note 14 specific relationship patterns. (See table 1)

13

14

Table 1 from 14 Patterns of Biophelic Design illustrates the functions of each of the 14
Patterns in supporting stress reduction, cognitive performance, emotion and mood enhancement and the human body. Patterns that are supported by more rigorous empirical
data are marked with up to three asterisks (***), indicating that the quantity and quality
of available peer-reviewed evidence is robust and the potential for impact is great, and
no asterisk indicates that there is minimal research to support the biological relationship
between health and design, but the anecdotal information is compelling and adequate
for hypothesizing its potential impact and importance as a unique pattern.

15

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1.5 THE STATE OF ECOLOGY

A TRADITION OF TWO RS

The paradigm of modern ecological conservation strategy is

broken down into two categories, Reservation and Restoration
or the two Rs. Reservation takes functioning habitats and
stakes out a boundary around them, barring most human use
of the land. Restoration on the other hand takes ecosystems
that are no longer functioning but mostly still present and
revitalizes them back to functioning systems.

While these strategies are incredibly important they alone are
failing to reconcile the vast need for human habitat with the
dire consequences of destroying what was there before.

Even if we were able to reserve all of the untouched land left on
the planet we would still be facing a drastic loss of biodiversity.
There is a need for habitats where they no longer exist to be
preserved. Restoring failed ecosystems is a second line of
defense but the complexity of naturally occurring systems is
incredibly hard to recreate.

17

Figure 1:
Total area covered by the National Wildlife Refuge System in the continental
United States. 150 million acres of land and water from the Caribbean to the
remote Pacific.

18

1.6 RECONCILIATION

A WIN WIN ECOLOGICAL STRATEGY

Understanding that man must find a way to reconcile the realities

of needing more space and needing what already inhabits that
space is the foundation of Michael L. Rosenzweigs book Win Win
Ecology. He explains that there simply is not enough land available
to successfully segregate us from other species and while adjusting
to the shared use of our spaces is a start, the ultimate goal must
be to design them for all living occupants.
Yet even if this 5 percent [of natural habitat] could be saved, he argues, the remaining 95 percent
would remain severely compromised. Indeed, even if conservationists use standard reservation ecology
together with restoration ecology to achieve their ends, we will be left with biological crumbs, that
is, small islands of biodiversity precariously connected (or not) with conservation corridors. (Geisler)

Many of the examples Rosenzweig gives are cases of

environmental stewardship in formally unprotected landscapes.
Many species have adapted to human generated habitats that
were not necessarily designed for their benefit. When engineers
constructed the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin Texas they had
no idea that expansion joints beneath the bridge would make an
ideal bat roost. Now, years later, thousands of Mexican free-tailed
bats make their nests within it every year.



What we know now as a result of these happy accidents is
that designers have the ability to supply resources back into
our environment - often with very little additional effort. The
appropriate steps to take now are deliberate moves to create a
new armature for nature within our built environment.
Degrading our environment causes us to expect less of it. But improving our environment will cause
us to expect more. (Rosenzweig)

Every summer night, hundreds of people gather to see the worlds largest urban bat
colony emerge from under the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin, Texas.

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DESIGNING
DIVERSITY
MASTERS PRE-THESIS DOCUMENT

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2.0

WHERE

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2.1 MILWAUKEE COUNTY GROUNDS

A LANDSCAPE IN TRANSITION

One of the few large pieces of undeveloped land remaining in

the Milwaukee metropolitan area is the Northeast Quadrant of
the County Institutions. Now referred to simply as the County
Grounds, this piece of the Institution lands is at the heart of
the city of Wauwatosa and is greatly valued by the people for its
naturalized lands and access to wildlife. Unlike the other parts of
the Institution lands, which were completely developed over the
last 50 years into the County Medical Complex and more a recently
installed research park, the Northeast Quadrant has survived
major development attempts on numerous occasions (including a
bid to locate Miller Stadium on the site in 1988).
However, as the urbanization of the metropolitan area pushes
outward from Milwaukee, Wauwatosa is running out of sites for
economic expansion and in 2009 it sold the southwest corner
of the land for development. The community backlash has been
extensive citing concern for the ecological and biophilic resources.
The tension between the economic value of developing the site
and the ecological value of reserving it suggests that this site is an
opportunity to implement reconciliation ecology and design.

23

WISCONSIN

MILWAUKEE COUNTY

CITY OF WAUWATOSA

THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY GROUNDS

24

2.2 RESOURCES OF THE SITE

ECOLOGICAL AND OTHERS

The County Grounds is bordered by two major roadways

(Watertown Plank Road and Highway 45) to the south and west
and two waterways to the north. Swan Blvd bisects the quadrant
running east-west and the newly completed Discovery Parkway
divides the southern half roughly into develop-able land and
natural reserve. The site boundary for this project is the one piece
of newly develop-able land east of the parkway.

[1] Underwood Creek is the small waterway that flows about

8 miles east from Brookfield and turns north along the county
grounds to flow into the Menomonee River. The Underwood
Creek sub-watershed encompasses approximately 19.8 square
miles and includes portions of the communities of Brookfield, Elm
Grove and Wauwatosa. Much of the creek was converted in the
20th century to be concrete line channel which destroyed nearly
all of it ecological value and contributed to significant flooding
problems in the last two decades.
In 2009 the MMSD completed the first phase of a waterway
rehabilitation plan for the creek and restored parts of it near
the grounds back to naturally flowing waterway - restoring the
ecological value to the areas citizens and wildlife.

25

2007

Graph 1: Underwood Creek rehabilitation stream bed profile showing eliminated

barriers and improved mobility for aquatic life. (MMSD)

2008

26

Menomonee River water

shed. Urban hardscape
shown in red.

27

[2] The Menomonee River is one of the three major waterways

in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and is 33 miles long, with a

watershed that covers approximately 140 square miles of urban
landscape and is home to a population of more than 336,670
people. It flows south-east along the northern edge of the County
Grounds and is the major feature in the landscape that allows
wildlife to move from northern woodlands, grasslands, wetlands,
and agricultural lands into the more urban areas.
As the watershed urbanized, the percentage of the landscape
covered by impervious surfaces increased as did the accompanying
underground network of storm sewers designed to rapidly deliver
storm-water into the river. Flooding became a growing problem,
leading to stream channel lining, deepening, straightening and
relocating to move storm-water downstream more swiftly. These
activities, especially channel lining, have destroyed miles of habitat
for animals and plants that live in or along rivers and streams (WI
DNR). A large stretch of the river that had been concrete lined
and impassible for most aquatic life since 1965 was removed in
2013 and the resulting movement of wildlife up stream from lake
Michigan has been drastically improved.

28

[3] In addition to the rehabilitation of the waterways adjacent

to the site, the MMSD implemented another large strategy to

manage the storm-water flooding problem that has been plaguing
the region. Completed in May of 2011, MMSD installed a 90
million dollar basin consisting of two lobes on the north-east part
of the grounds. An underground tunnel that is 17 feet in diameter
and a half mile long diverts excess water from Underwood Creek
into the basin. From there it slowly releases into the Menomonee
River. Designed to perform in a 100 year storm event, the basin
could fill in about four hours and If completely filled, it can take
four days to drain into the river. The basin essentially functions
as a constructed wetland and provides value both to the city and
wildlife.

[4] The Wisconsin DNR owns a 67 acre hardwood forest just

north of Swan Blvd and helps manage the Forestry Exploration
Center just to the east of it. It is considered a natural area of local
significance as well as a Class II wildlife habitat within the southern
Lake Michigan coastal ecological landscape and it is one of the
largest wooded tracts remaining in Milwaukee County.

29

Figure 1: Milwaukee County Grounds site resources key. (1) Underwood Creek, (2) Menomonee River, (3) MMSD
flood management basin / constructed wetlands, (4) DNR forest and Forestry Education Center, (5) Existing
wetlands, (6) Monarch butterfly habitat, (7) Prairie grasslands / community recreational trails, (8) Echelon
Apartments, (9) UWM Innovation Campus.

30
Figure 2: Existing wetland analysis.
Overall the majority of the wetlands
on the site were ranked in most
categories as medium. Seven of
the wetlands were characterized as
having a high function or value. Three
wetlands have high functions and
values in five categories. Overall, the
highest value of these wetlands are
provided through the attenuation of
floodwater/stormwater and through
the protection of groundwater.

[5] As

part of their environmental survey of the site before

starting the storm-water management plans, MMSD surveyed
the existing patches of natural wetlands. The patches were given
ratings in eight categories to understand their level of functionality.
(See Figure 2)

[6] At the heart of the County Grounds is a 60 acre swath of

grassland prairie. While some of it is plagued by non-native

invasive plant species, the rolling hills that were created with
fill from the storm water basin were reseeded with a mixture of
native prairie plants and further efforts to eliminate the invasive
plants is currently underway. This prairie serves as a recreation
area for people as well as habitat and hunting grounds for a wide
array of species.

31

(Eddee Daniel)

32

(Michael J Matusinec)

33

[7] One of only four documented roosting sites for monarch

butterflies in the state of Wisconsin is located on the county

grounds and its displacement by new development has been
one of the greatest controversies concerning the area. The site
offers geographic and landscape features that have attracted
thousands of butterflies to the land for years. The proximity to
the Monomonee river allows for the north/south migration and
because the area is the highest point in Milwaukee County it gives
the Monarchs the advantages of gauging wind speed, direction,
and temperature. The Monarchs have already lost over 200 acres
of habitat in the area and only about 11 acres of viable habitat
have been reserved near the historic Eschweiler Buildings (8). (See
2.3 for more information)

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[8] Built in 1912 and under construction summer and fall of

2015, the historic buildings of the Milwaukee School of Agriculture

and Domestic Economy (the Milwaukee poor farm), which were
designed by revered Wisconsin architect Alexander C. Eschweiler,
are being restored and reused as part of a new apartment complex
which adds six new buildings (188 units) to the site.

[9] UWM became the center of the controversy over developing

the county grounds when it purchased the land in 2011 from the
city. The first piece of the development was completed in 2013
with the opening of Discovery Parkway. There are currently two
completed new buildings on what was named the Innovation
Campus. The UWM Innovation Accelerator, conceived as a place
where business and industry meets academic research and ABB
inc. (a technology and engineering facility) were both constructed
on the west side of Discovery Parkway. The master plan for the
campus calls for four additional facilities on the west side of the
site (two educational and two private sector) and four new private
buildings on the east side of the road, one of which being an
extended stay hotel.

35

Top: Milwaukee County School of

Agriculture and Domestic Economy
(1912-1928), Middle: Rendering
of Echelon Apartments reuse of
Eschweiler buildings and the six
new apartment buildings (Mandel
Group), Bottom: UWM Innovation
Accelerator.

36

2.3 A KEYSTONE SPECIES

FIGHTING THE FALL OF THE MONARCH

One of the most relevant aspects of this site to the notion of

reconciling human and fauna habitat is the struggling monarch
butterfly population and its loss of natural habitat both abroad
and specifically at this rare Wisconsin location.
The result of decades of data collection, gained through tagging, mapping and many other methods,
concluded that we, as a nation, as a people, have so radically altered the landscape of the American
Midwest that there is no longer enough food for monarchs to eat. That is, monarchs are running out
of milkweed. (Jim Price)

While adult monarchs survive on a strict fluid diet of water and

nectar, the one and only place they will lay their eggs and the one
and only thing the larva will eat when they hatch is milkweed.
The decline of the milkweed plant as natural prairies have been
overtaken by pavement and lawns has directly correlated to a
drastic drop in monarch butterflies - down from 1 billion in 1997
to only 57 million in 2015 (NRDC). Milkweed contains a variety of
chemical compounds that make monarch caterpillars poisonous
to most vertebrates but does not hurt the monarch caterpillar.

37

The biggest step to revitalizing the monarch population is relatively

simple compared to some other species - plant more milkweed.
However, locating that milkweed and generating more roosting
and nectaring sites that are integrated with the built environment
will give an opportunity for ecology and the needs of the butterflies
and plants to shape the design of the architecture.

38

The current resources on the county grounds for the monarch

butterflies are what makes it one of only four locations in the state
that harbors them during their migration.
While a small 11 acre area is preserved, multiple secondary roost sites have been destroyed or
removed by the development on the Grounds. Yet another will be taken down in 2015 to make way
for a parking structure. The importance and urgency of recognizing these areas, restoring, protecting
and managing them, is a responsibility we embrace as stewards of our natural world. (Friends of the
Monarch Trail)

Friends of the Monarch Trail is a non-profit organization that was

formed in 2011 to advocate for the species as development moved
onto the site. They have maintained the trail system that winds
through the habitat and host community and educational events
focused on the preservation of it. They currently are working on
a large habitat restoration project in the area west of the new
apartment buildings which is owned and had been cleared of
roosting habitat by the DOT.
At a time when monarch populations are at an all time low these types of larger projects are critical
for their recovery. Setting good examples of blending natural landscapes with development is the way
of the future. Native landscapes are being planned for the new developments, yet the roosting sites
are in need of additional space. Blending these together creates a more realistic amount of space to
restore the monarch migration on this site. The public, surrounding land owners and building tenants
will all benefit from the value that is added to their businesses and homes. (Friends of the Monarch
Trail)

39

Left: WI DOT Butterfly seed mix for

the replanting of monarch habitat.
Right: Friends of the Monarch Trail
gather, separate, and spread native
and local milkweed seed on the
County Grounds.

40

2.4 AS SEEN ON THE COUNTY GROUNDS

A FRACTION OF THE EXISTING USER GROUP.

(Debbie Kaap)

(Eddee Daniel)

(Peter Zuzga)

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(Flickr user brooksmelk)

(Evan Barrientos)

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DESIGNING
DIVERSITY
MASTERS PRE-THESIS DOCUMENT

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3.0

WHAT

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3.1 ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAM

THE HOTEL GENUS

The UWM Real Estate Commission has a vision for their

development. Even though that vision faces great opposition and
many in the community whom value the county grounds would
rather see it completely preserved, the reality is that the buildings
are and will be built there. Accepting the conditions of urban
expansion is part of the foundation of reconciliation ecology and
is also part of this exploration. For this reason the architecture
program for this project will remain prescribed by the current
master plan of the campus and will focus specifically on designing
the proposed extended stay hotel and a convention center to the
east of Discovery Parkway.
The site and surrounding community has numerous amenities
that stand to benefit greatly from a facility that can accommodate
out of town researchers, patients, and businessmen and the
building itself is to be a destination of its own, providing a place
for innovators to gather, brainstorm, and present cutting edge
science. Incorporating a hotel on the campus will elevate the
national exposure, increase economic growth, and solidify the
area as a significant nodal point in the scientific community.

45

46

The typology of a hotel is an ideal catalyst for exploring reconciled

design. In a typical hotel, guest rooms account for about 80 percent
of the total square footage of the building and because they are
modular elements, less time is required to program and design
that chunk of the architecture. This will allow the design to focus
on and detail the parts of the building that will be accessible for
the public and wildlife.
The public spaces of a hotel are generally the most thoughtfully
designed and only account for 12 percent of the square footage of
the building. For the purposes of this project and its emphasis on
the proximity of living things the public space will account for 20
percent of the square footage.
Table 1: Typical hotel
program proportion of guest
room net to gross square
footage and typical resulting
hotel gross per room.
(deRoos)

72

20

Table 2: Typical hotel

breakdown of the three
main program elements by
percentage of total hotel
area. (deRoos)

The current plan for the hotel calls for 128 guest room suites. Using
that number and deRoos tables for calculating hotel program, the
estimated square footage of the hotel portion of the program will
include 75,520sf of guest-rooms, 20,100sf of public spaces, and
8,400 sf of back of house and offices.
128 rooms x 590sf = 75,520sf
Gross Rooms
sf
sf
(75,520
) / .72
= 105,000 Hotel
____________________________________________________________________________________________
.20(105,000sf)
.08(105,000sf)

= 20,100sf
= 8,400sf

Public Space
Back of House

Figure 1: Typical hotel program

spacial relationships diagram.
(deRoos)

47

48
The second half of the program for this exercise is a convention
center that can provide exhibition, meeting, and presentation
space for the Innovation Campus, The Milwaukee Regional Medical
Center, and the research park. This too is a typology that is fairly
simple to conceptualize and again puts emphasis on more public
spaces and the integration of habitats.
In the most general sense, a convention center consists of the combination of a few basic elements:
exhibition space, meeting room space, ballroom(s), theaters, public circulation (concourses), and
service areas. Any given convention center may include any or all of these elements The pattern
that does emerge across convention centers is the ratio with which these elements are combined and
the subsequent adjacencies, sub-adjacencies, and relationships that form when these elements are
organized into a complete building form. (Newman)

Exhibition space diagram for

Cobo Center, Detroit, Michigan.

Exhibition space diagram for

McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois.

Exhibition space diagram for Javits

Center, New York, New York.
(Newman)

Exhibit Hall (40,000 sf)

49

Expansive, column-free Exhibit Hall can be divided evenly into two

rooms or used as an uninterrupted convention space. The hall also
features a drive-in loading dock, and an upper-level room that allows
show managers to overlook the entire exhibit space with ease.

Exhibit Hall Pre-Function Space (14,000 sf)

This program is modeled Open space offers multiple grand entrances into the Exhibit Hall and
loosely after The Irving supports the convention center as the general building lobby.
Convention Center at Las
Colinas designed by RMJM Meeting Rooms (1,000 sf)
with proportions driven For smaller gatherings, meeting rooms each large enough to seat
by the convention center attendees in round-table, theater and classroom styles.
typology study by Brett
Boardroom (800 sf)
Newman.
Formal Boardroom offering single round table seating, privacy glass,
and professional furnishings.

The sum of the major

program elements to the Grand Ballroom (18,000 sf)
right totals at 105,800 sf. Space for medium - large banquet or meeting events including
Proportionally that should corporate events, weddings, receptions, dances, class reunions, formal
be about 75% of the gross dinners, musical performances, seminars, workshops and other special
square footage. Assuming occasions.
10% for circulation and
Grand Ballroom Pre-Function Space (8,000 sf)
15% for back of house the
Support space for Grand Ballroom events.
total square footage of the
convention center should Terraces (24,000 sf)
be around 142,000 sf.
Public gathering / support spaces including indoor/outdoor cafe.

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DESIGNING
DIVERSITY
MASTERS PRE-THESIS DOCUMENT

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4.0

HOW

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4.1 A SERIES OF NESTED SCALES

A TIME / SPACE RELATIONSHIP

On a given site the reservation of natural habitat will only go so

far. The threat to most species is not only a loss of acreage, but the
staggering fragmentation of that habitat. Viable population sizes
require far more land than what will typically be set aside on a
single site so wildlife corridors must be present as the connective
tissue between pieces of reserved habitat. Riverbanks often
serve as this connective tissue on large urban scales because they
allow passage in and out of the urban zone to greater swaths of
naturalized land. In some regions up to 70 percent of all vertebrates
use the riparian zone at some point in their life cycle.

This connectivity becomes increasingly important as you consider
that most species operate at multiple habitat scales both in space
and time. Spatially a given species might move from a nesting site
to a feeding range to a migratory range and all three scales must
be linked in a physical way. Temporal habitat scales occur at both
the individual level and the species level where daily, seasonal,
and generational implications can shape the need for habitat.
Ultimately the spatial and temporal scales are linked both in
concept and in practice. (Mayor, Schneider, Schaefer, & Mahoney)

The County Grounds site was chosen because it already exhibits

traits that support the connectivity of habitat scales. One of the
goals of this project is to harness that value and reconcile habitat
on it at the scales of the architectural detail, the building proper,
and the immediate site surrounding it.

Figure 1: The link between spatial and temporal scales of habitat selection. The spatial units
reflect organism mobility; the axis units would be appropriate for a long-lived, wide-ranging
species like caribou. (Mayor, Schneider, Schaefer, & Mahoney)

53

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4.2 ECOLOGICAL PROGRAM TYPES

EXAMPLES OF EXISTING HABITAT INTEGRATION

[1] The green roof is the most common way ecology has been
integrated with architecture. One of the main benefits to the use
of a green roof is off setting the displaced ecology from under
the footprint of the building. However, nearly 75% of green roofs
installed currently are extensive (mostly sedum) systems that do
not support much biodiversity or habitat.
After nearly 15 years of research, Dr. Gunter Mann established meaningful results with regards to
green roofs serving as permanent and temporary wildlife habitat. The height and exposure of the
building are less relevant than the size of the green roof, the depth of the growing media, rooting
volume and plant varieties... it is possible to support the upper tiers of the food chain by installing
large, inexpensive, standardized extensive green roofs with 5% - 10% intensive islands. Such designs
support higher ecological value than the sum of all corn fields. (Jrg Breuning)

However, green roofs as they are typically designed today do

have limitations to their effectiveness in replacing the ecological
footprint of the building. The inaccessibility to most ground
dwelling species and the limited substrate depth makes them
inherently less diverse than a similar ecosystem on the ground.
A major design challenge for this project is to leverage the
architecture to increase accessibility and soil depths of any green
roof incorporated.

55

56

[2] A

biodiversity roof (sometimes called a brown roof) is a

different type of system that often incorporates both extensive and
intensive green roofs as well as banks of sand, rough stone, tree
limbs and nesting habitat, water and other micro environments
one would typically find scattered throughout an ecosystem.
As the name suggests the main purpose of this system is to
provide the highest amount of biodiversity possible. Where some
species might thrive in the plant-rich environment of an intensive
green roof other species that desire different types of microenvironments will likely be left without habitat on a typical green
roof.

57

Top and Left: The biodiversity green roof at the University of Melbourne (52 m) has been designed to attract and provide habitat
for lizards, insects and birds. Features on the roof that are known to encourage and sustain biodiversity include: Indigenous plants
representative of Victorias endangered native grasslands, including known larval food plants or nectar sources for butterflies and
native bees, a small ephemeral pond and shallow creek bed, different substrates to facilitate micro-habitats for invertebrates, and
specific habitat features.

58

[3] Insect hotels have long been popular in Germany, where

forests are highly managed, leaving few suit- able nesting sites
for wood-nesting bees and wasps. When declines in these
insects became evident, instead of restoring habitat, forest
stewards provided hotels of drilled wooden blocks and hollow
twigs, designed to attract hymenopteran guests. Soon, hotels
included accommodations for overwintering insects and became
increasingly common in the Netherlands, the British Isles, and
elsewhere in Europe. They have only fairly recently crossed the
Atlantic, popping up occasionally in private and public garden
settings. (Lavoipierre)

A typical insect hotel has two simple components, an armature

constructed vertically from the ground which is subdivided into
cells and organic material at various stages of decomposition
which infill the cells. The traditional hotel was only focused
on the functionality of the structure for providing habitat but
contemporary designers have found that aesthetic value can be
designed into the armature without compromising the habitat
within. Arup Associates designed one of these modern hotels using
the patter from a dragonflys wing as the organizing armature and
it serves as a good example of how reconciled habitat can be wild
without necessarily looking wild.

59

Top: Common garden insect hotel using

refuse wooden pallets as the organizing
armature and various organic material
as nesting and feeding habitat. Bottom:
Arup Associates Beyond the Hive
competition winner hotel constructed
using CNC routed MDF as the armature
and similar organic material as habitat.

60

[4] Bird

houses are one of the

oldest examples of man made habitat
structures for wild animals but they
have traditionally been segregated
from the buildings we constructed for
ourselves. More recently the approach
to avian habitat is becoming more and
more aligned with the reconciliation
philosophy as designers are looking for
ways to integrate bird ( and similarly bat)
boxes into the different modular building
components and assemblies.

[5] Bats have a more uphill battle when

is comes to public acceptance of their

living in proximity to people. Often written
off as pests or disease ridden, bats are
actually one of the most important groups
to maintaining a healthy ecosystem
because of their insect heavy diet. Rain
screen integrated bat boxes are becoming
more common because of their ability
to seamlessly provide roosting habitat
and deter bats from infiltrating into the
building proper.

61
Both bird and bat boxes come with some
inherent challenges that are potential
design opportunities. Animal droppings
can pose both health an aesthetic risks
to the building and inhabitants and must
be taken into consideration when making
design decisions.

62

[6] The barn owl is perhaps the best example of a species dwelling

reconciled with our own, so much so that it takes its name from
the architecture we share. For hundreds of years Barn Owls have
lived mainly in farm buildings and help farmers by eating mice and
rats but barn owls were around long before the first farmers built
barns. They lived in rock crevices and hollow trees, and sometimes
still do.
Over the past 100 years most of the old traditional nest and roost sites have been lost. Old farm
buildings have been replaced with new ones or converted into houses with nowhere for Barn Owls to
live. Hollow trees have been tidied away. Church towers are often netted-off to stop owls and other
birds making a mess. (The Barn Owl Trust)

Barn owls are tolerant of living close to man, and they respond well
to management. By packing nest boxes in areas with adequate
feeding habitat, barn owls can have a secure nesting place. The
important elements of a barn owl nest box are roominess (to
accommodate the species large broods) and seclusion from
predation.

63

64

[7]

Towers provide the greatest level of efficiency for habitat

- human or otherwise. That is why the concept of constructed
wildlife towers has gained popularity among designers in recent
(and not so recent) years. Species that have vertical mobility and
tend to colonize are best suited for these types of dwellings and
so many towers are designed for bats, birds, and bees.
What does not seem to have been embraced in any of these projects
is the notion that architecture for humans and architecture for
animals can be integrated into the same construction.

(Baghdad, Iraq) Originally built as

a pigeon cove, this cone-shaped
tower was built by Sadaam Hussein
for one of his mistresses and is now
home to hundreds of bats.

(San Antonio, Texas) Bat tower

designed by Charles Campbell,
who built several successful
bat towers in the early 1900s.
Campbell believed colonizing bats
would get rid of mosquito-borne
disease.

(East Otto, New York )To provide

a suitably warm interior for bat
roosting, dark wood panels cover
this towers inhabitation zone in
order to absorb sunlight. Designed
by Joyce Hwang.

65

(Beijing, China) 24-meter high swift

tower built to provide a home for
more than 1,500 swifts. In recent
decades, the population of swifts
has declined as many traditional
tower structures are demolished.

(Warsaw, Poland) Swift Tower by

Menthol Architects. The European
swift population is on the decline,
largely because modern, well
insulated buildings have fewer
nooks and crannies for them to
make their nests.

(Buffalo, New York )Tower habitat

for a colony of honeybees, which
originally occupied an abandoned
office building. The tower provides
protection, warmth and separates
entry access between bees and
humans.

66

[8] Green walls can provide habitats for invertebrates which in

turn provide a food source for larger animals such as birds and
bats. They can also act as a transit route for wildlife between
habitats at ground level and green roofs.
The array of insects and the seeds produced by the flowering plants all provide good feeding
opportunities to a range of birds, from common garden birds, such as greenfinch, blackbirds and
wrens, to goldfinch, linnets and even the rare black redstarts in certain parts of the country. (Williams)

In addition to the potential food sources that a vertical or roof

garden produces, the use of habitat boxes coupled with carefully
chosen plant species, can create fantastic roosting/nesting places
for birds as well as hibernation opportunities for insects.
Green walls can be a design feature both inside and outside
the building. The topic of inside versus outside will be a major
challenge in the design of this project. For hundreds of years
we have done everything we could to keep so called pests for
entering our buildings which included eradicating them from the
immediate area. There will be a significant amount of the building
(the indoors) that should remain inaccessible to wildlife and
there will need to be a specific design solution to hold that line.

67

(Avignon, France) In 2006, the

city cloaked a stark 1970s parking
garage facade with a huge and
dramatic plant wall designed by
the botanist Patrick Blanc, who
also created a similar installation
at the Muse des Arts Premiers in
Paris.

68

DESIGNING
DIVERSITY
MASTERS PRE-THESIS DOCUMENT

69

Full Committee

Chair Meeting

5.0

Committee member meetings

scheduled at convenience

WHEN

70

A.1 SCHEDULE OF DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW

9.8.15

END CONTEXT MAPPING

9.9.15

FULL COMMITTEE

D1. Site Model

D2. Site Analytics Drawing [SNAFU]

T1. Parameters and Calendar Review

T2. Open Forum
T3. Phase 1 Projection

9.10.15 PHASE 1

D1. Architectural Program Analysis and Description

D2. Ecological Program Analysis and Description

9.16.15 CHAIR

T1. Architectural Program Analysis and Description

T2. Ecological Program Analysis and Description

9.17.15 PHASE 2

D1. Habitat Design Mock-ups, Models, Drawings, Details

D2. Architectural massing and block studies

9.21.15 COMMITTEE MEMBERS*

T1. Phase 1 Progress
T2. Phase 2 Progress

9.23.15 CHAIR
T1. Phase 2 Progress

71

10.1.15 PHASE 3

D1. Final massing and block study

D2. Guest room floor plan
D3. Programmatic adjacency diagram
D4. Schematic designs for major public spaces

10.5.15 COMMITTEE MEMBERS*

T1. Phase 3 Progress

10.7.15 CHAIR
T1. Phase 3 Progress

10.14.15 FULL COMMITTEE

T1. Phase 1 -3 Review
T2. Functionality of habitat
T3. Functionality of design

10.15.15 PHASE 4

D1. Developed site plan

D2. Developed floor plans
D3. Developed roof plans
D4. Developed building sections
D4. Renderings of major public spaces

10.19.15 COMMITTEE MEMBERS*

T1. Phase 4 Progress

10.21.15 CHAIR
T1. Phase 4 Progress

10.28.15 CHAIR
T1. Phase 4 Progress

11.2.15 COMMITTEE MEMBERS*

T1. Phase 4 Progress

72

11.4.15 CHAIR
T1. Phase 4 Progress

11.11.15 FULL COMMITTEE

T1. Phase 4 Review
T2. Structural design review
T3. Open forum
T5. Phase 5 steering - request for detail

11.12.15 PHASE 5

D1. Presentation architectural drawings

D2. Presentation architectural renderings
D3. Presentation architectural+ecological diagrams
D4. Presentation building model
D5. Presentation detail/sectional model

11.16.15 COMMITTEE MEMBERS*

T1. Phase 5 Progress

11.18.15 CHAIR
T1. Phase 4 Progress

12.2.15 CHAIR
T1. Phase 4 Progress

12.7.15 COMMITTEE MEMBERS*

T1. Phase 5 Progress

12.9.15 FULL COMMITTEE

T1. Phase 5 progress Review
T2. Representation Critique
T3. Open forum
T5. Presentation Strategy

*Committee member meeting scheduled week of at convenience

73

74

DESIGNING
DIVERSITY
MASTERS PRE-THESIS DOCUMENT

75

6.0

CASE STUDY

76

4.2 THE ELMONTE SAGRADO RESORT

AN EXAMPLE OF ECO HOSPITALITY

This AAA Four Diamond Award-winning spa and resort is competely

surrounded by lush cascade of water features, hydroponic plants,
and engineered wetlands, all of which are constantly working to
cleanse wastewater and rainwater for re-use.
The major ecological features of this project were designed into
the architecture as infrastructural water conservation systems
but inheirently they act as reclaimed habitat for an array of native
wildlife.
The purpose of the resort is to allow its customers to experience ecologically innovative water
integration and management systems that reduce potable water consumption by 50% without
compromising comfort and convenience while providing real greening of the entire project. Social
conversion to green concepts meets high resistance unless lifestyle changes are kept minimal and
have greater benefits than costs. (Szerdi)

Guests of the resort are invited to swim in natural ponds fed

with rainwater, and stroll or lounge beside a working ecological
wastewater treatment system. The blending of architecture,
infrastructure, and ecology poses a profound challenge to the
idea that human habitation and support systems must be divorced
from our natural environment..

77

78

4.2 CHICAGO CITY HALL GREEN ROOF MEADOW

AN URBAN HABITAT FOR MONARCHS AND MORE

The 20,000 square foot green roof that was installed atop the
Chicago city hall is a prime example of ecology and biodiversity
being reconciled with urban architecture. The original intent of
the green roof was to support a campaign against urban heat
island effect (one of the many other great benefits of green roofs
not focused on in this document).
The apparent rolling mounds of earth and plants are actually
contoured layers of lightweight insulation topped with a typical
green roof systems only 3-9 inched deep. The meadow is planted
with a variety of native plants and prairie grasses and uses sedum
throughout to the stabilize the environment and create better
growing conditions. This project included a drip irrigation system,
fed partially by water collected from the adjacent penthouse roof.
Home to a multitude of indigenous plants and flowers, the roof has
beehives that produce approximately 200 pounds of honey each
year and often support monarch butterflies in their migration. In
addition to nurturing songbirds and insects, thousands of residents
and office workers in the 30 skyscrapers surrounding City Hall also
enjoy the gardens beauty year-round.

79
Roofmeadow Contractor
Former Roofmeadow Network contractor

Landscape Architect
Conservation Design Forum

Architect

McDonough + Partners

Area

20,000 square feet

Irrigation
Base drip

Waterproofing
PVC

Awards
The American Society of Landscape Architects
2002 Professional Merit Award

Assemblies

Type II - 3.50 inches of media

Type III - 9.00 inches of medi

80

4.2 CARDIFF BAY ANIMAL WALL

A MULTI-SPECIES CONDO

Conceived of as an ecological art installment by artist Gitta

Gschwendtner, the Cardiff Bay Animal Wall is a 50 meter long
wall running along the edge of a dense urban condominium
development. The wall is designed with four types of integrated
habitat boxes designed to meet the needs of different species of
bats and birds.
Concerns over the environmental impact of Cardiff Bays extensive
development inspired the artwork which matches the 1,000
newest apartment units built with 1,000 new nest boxes. The wall
runs along the edge of private residential space and the adjacent
public riverside walk. The nesting boxes are made from woodcrete,
a wood/concrete mixture, and an ecologist assisted in their design.
The bottom most photo brings to light a design challenge that
accompanies the design of wildlife habitats that have an aesthetic
function - animal byproduct and waste can accumulate and serve
as both a health and visual concern. A rigorous maintenance
schedule may mitigate this problem but ideally there should be a
design intervention that solves this issue.

81

82

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