The Little Hill
Landscape Grading Idea Changing Parking Lot To Public Space
Constructed Ground Studio
Type: Academic / Individual Work
Time: JAN. 6, 2020 – Feb. 5, 2020
Size: 0.5 Acres (1,800 m2)
Tutor: Courtney Goode
Location: 231 South Main St, Providence, RI
This is a parking lot between the building of industry design and architecture. The original site and the slope is a great condition to play with rainwater. My idea is to play with water. In the way the water going down the slope, it can be purified and have fun, finally gathering into a pool and then flow into the river.
Site Location
The site close to the Providence river-front, where people like walking around. Concerning two teaching buildings, the main users will be students of industrial design, landscape architecture, and architecture. The design focus on semi-open gathering and resting space.
Being shield by the building, the site has uneven sunlight and radiation condition. This provides a great environment for a different type of vegetations from heliophiles to sciophytes, from those love dry to the wet. As the rainwater just simply flow out the site. It will be an opportunity to change the slope to create a different humid condition.
Design Concept
Sightseeing Under The Tree: Concerning the whole year’s sunlight hour and radiation condition. To get more sunlight, the east part is designed to slightly lift to get more sun. A tree will create a space for sightseeing.
Gather Around The Pool:
The eastern part of the site will receive strong sunlight and radiation during summer. Therefore a pool will help cool down the temperature and adjust the microclimate.
Concept Model
The rainwater will pass several stages when flowing. The first stage intends to be dry, water will only stay for a short time. The second stage will be a flat slope, vegetations will purify it and the water can penetrate the soil, creating different humidity ambient for vegetations. In the third stage, it will be storage briefly, while when the pool is full the top layer of water will flow out into the fourth stage.
Grading Plan
Water will flow down and gather in rain. The gentle slope of the path extended the experience of walking through the site, different sceneries will be shown in the way you walk, enriching the students’ life for wondering, thinking, sitting, laying down in the lawn, etc.
When the pool is full, the top layer of the water will flow out through a curved path into the Providence River. People will be able to see the water flowing slowly.
This sightseeing place is the highest spot of the whole site, sightly hide the sight in the main street, making people curious. A tree will plant here to receive more sunlight.
Between the little hills bridges will connect the path, rainwater will flow below the bridge.
Most of the rainwater in the site will gather and store in this pool, becoming a source to irrigate the vegetations in the dry time. What’s more, between dry and wet season the water level of this pool will different, when people walking around they would realize the time is different.
This gathering seating place is hidden by a gentle slope with vegetations, which slightly reduce the noice and creating a semi-open talking environment for students to meet with someone, or just take a rest here under the shade of trees.
Construction Detail
