Living with Water

Nowadays, we are experiencing a severe global pandemic, which currently drives us into a chaotic and recriminative situation. It is necessary to think about what is the best way for our city to respond to the transmission of infectious disease. We all hope that we can trace back to the source hidden behind the phenomenon and prevent a similar crisis assaulting again. In this scenario, the epidemic is not limited to COVID-19 but any harmful virus which could cause a substantial negative impact on human. Thus, we are going to establish a preventative urban immune system for city’s self-protection.

For this system, it originates from epidemiology that infectious diseases should be systematically controlled from upstream, midstream and downstream. In this way, Architectural strategies can be used to reorganize advanced urban spaces, and these spaces are not only for self-isolation but also for maintaining visual interaction. Additionally, bioremediation technology is taken into consideration, which contributes to improve the environment quality and naturally inhibit the propagation of diseases.

Melbourne is a coastal city, so it has to face the global crisis of sea-level rise. The city could be potentially flooded in an extended period. From this perspective, we incorporate the response to sea level rising in the stage of Upstream; the first defensive strategy is to establish a series of monitoring buildings located on the waterfront or under the sea. It’s mostly expected to detect the source of the deadly virus and eradicate it immediately at an early stage. Therefore, many observing stations are supposed to distribute throughout the building. Some are placed on the top level for air quality monitoring. And some points on the seabed for achieving water quality testing. Besides, the underwater mixed space allows various creatures to live in harmony with each other.

On the other hand, the coralized buildings have also become the first barrier to avoid flooding. Its porous manufacturing is produced to drain and store a small section of the flood. Then convert them to hydroelectric power to achieve flood control. Besides, part of the flood water will be converted into the water for aquariums and ponds. Also, recycle it as household water to make sustainable water management.