LANDSCAPE ARCITECTURE

Project Narrative

The first step of designing this project starts with material flow analysis. In this case, a brewery near the site is chosen. The typical brewing process has five macro inputs: water, grain, hops, yeast, and electricity. The major waste products are spent grain, hops, and yeast. My study site is Rhinegeist Brewing in Cincinnati which already sends the spent grain to local livestock farms as feed. The design focuses on recycling the spent hops and yeast byproducts as well as reducing if not eliminating the dependence on municipal water works. I plan to do this by designing a large rainwater catchment system through brownfields or underutilized surrounding lots and then running the water through a living biofilter to supply Rhinegesit’s annual water needs. The spent hops and yeast are full of vital nutrients that can be used as a natural fertilizer for the biofilter system. The biofilter will also aid in reducing the heat island effect, reducing air pollution, and adding green space to the inner city.
For inspiration, I used a traditional Iranian technique in architecture. Iranian traditional architects had many inventions with the aim to adjust to the nature and climate of every region such as hot-dry, cold, and humid climates. Many of these sustainable designs would provide stable conditions for human convenience in straightforward ways. Shawadan is one of the underground significant spaces in south Iran with hot and semi-humid weather.
The temperature inside the Shawadan can be 25 Celsius, while the surrounding streets are 54 degrees. Shawadans have diverse sizes, depths, and coolness, deeper and more voluminous have lower temperatures, and they are cooler. Many Shawadans have underground roads to each other, therefore, forming neighborhood connections in the depth of the ground. These twisting labyrinth structures join many old buildings of the city through underground tunnels in the end, through Shawadan’s neighboring buildings. For ventilating the spaces under the ground, air ducts were formed based on physical principles of fluids to conduct the pleasant air from Shawadan to inside the main building.

For the design process, the aim was to reuse an unbuilt subway in Cincinnati. Moreover, designing a pavilion near this subway was another main purpose of this project. As a result, I was inspired by the Shawadan concept in order to connect the pavilion with the subway and brewery.

                                           

Project Details

Submission Category

Landscape Architecture & Community Planning - Planning & Analysis Projects

Date of Completion

April, 2022