Towards Resilient Cities - Beirut Port Floating City

LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

Towards Resilient Cities.

Instructor: Clayes Damien, Roobaert Louis, Khamallah Nawri

+ context

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Scenario

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Site Information

+ case study

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A Plan for Tokyo

+ parameters

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Hydrodynamics at Coast: Waves and Breakwaters

+ experiments

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series of experiments

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LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

Content's.

Gaelle Mouaykel and Melina Khater 4

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LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

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+ context

Scenario.

The world "is getting windier" according to studies published in Nature Magazine. Over the past decade, global wind speeds has increased dramatically from 7mph to 7.6 mph a result from Climate change.

Princeton University published that the speeding-up trend could continue for another decade or longer, flooding coastal cities.

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For the past decades, and with the surging technological developments, man has extended his powers and attributed himself the right to defy nature. He developed unnatural systems and techniques that supported him in this combat. Silently suffering this defiance for long, mother earth was finally furious and hence started blowing out all man-made structures. Wind speeds accelerated by day in an attempt to wipe up this extravagant world man has built to satisfy his egoistic self.

Unfortunately, the areas most afflicted by this blowing outrage were coastal cities, where the increasing winds generated high waves, prompting the cities to flood. If this situation will continue indefinitely, coastal heritage and populations will go extinct.

After all, attempts to interrupt the undesirable change have failed, studies have been conducted to select pioneer cities for a project that will adapt to the rhythm of this wave rise.

The aim then is to build a solution in hope of saving coastal heritage in need, offering a new topography that will keep them afloat.

How to ensure the stability of a floating city in the face of rising waters?

How to sculpt a city to make it resilient to the influence of winds?

Limite Ethique We propose that this city act as a rescue boat for all, where populations in coastal cities affected by the high waves and flooding can find temporary housing in them.

Today, this city poses on the traces of the old Beirut port providing relief to the people affected by the August 4 blast.

Tomorrow, this city will be able to stand in face of the wave rise in all coastal cities.

Aim

portunity to address global warming by introducing a solution to coastal

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We decide to see this issue as an op-

cities at risk of sinking and the futur ones to follow. We hope that our input will shed light on the matter and drive architects around the world to take responsibility in addressing te matter in the best way we know

Gaelle Mouaykel

how to... through architecture.

Melina Khater Data Analysis

Site Needs

Site Analysis: Beirut Port

Scenario Windforce

7 Floa�ng City Program

Why ?

Waves

Breakwater

Unit

Stability Experiments

Resistance Experiments

Pa�ern & Density

Cluster

Scale & Porosity

Wave impact & Arrangement

Placement & Cluster

Wind Impact

Cluster Heights

Cellular Automata

Func�ons & Weight

Unit as a keel

Func�on: Weight & Wind

LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

Parameters

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Gaelle Mouaykel and Melina Khater

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Mediterranean Sea, observation of the wave velocity.

LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

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+ site choice

Beirut Port, Lebanon.

When we realize that anything and everything can vanish in 20 seconds, how can we dream of futures?

On August 4, 6:07 a country got stuck in the past.

On August 4, clocks stopped to watch Beirut Port go in blast as a container leaving 300,000 people homeless.

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Having a strategic location, the Beirut Port is located in the middle of the east coast of the Mediteranean sea. Its location assigned Beirut the title "gate to the middle east", where the port was used to accomodate imports and exports to and from the entire Middles East.

Since its establishment in 1984, the port has went through several extensions throughout history to become the 600,000m2 it is today.

The project proposal will present an opportunity to revive Beirut after the recent blast, offering its citizens an urban plan that will trigger their collective memories and encourage them to create a brighter one.

However, when building a city from 0, one must think of infrastructures that responds not only to the problems of the present but also futur ones to come, wave rise.

Our project, inspired by its people, will be summarized by one word: RESILIENCE

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LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

This cluster of neighborhoods contains the country's economic and historic heritage which roughly includes the electricity provider, 3 main hospitals, educational facilities, museums, and what is left from the historic buildings after the civil war in 1975. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that this area englobes collective memories that were jeaporadized on August 4, 2019.

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+ case study

A Plan for Tokyo.

“I feel however, that we architects have a special duty and mission… (to contribute) to the socio-cultural development of architecture and urban planning.”

– Kenzo Tange

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At a time where several cities in the industrial world were experiencing the height of urban sprawl, Kenzo Tange proposed a plan for Tokyo 1960 in response to this ungoing growth.

The plan is based on a linear organized matrix, which was to be an extension of the uncontrolled expansion of the city proper. This urban matrix was an adaptation of Kenzo Tange’s architectural

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The goals of Kenzo Tangue’s Plan of Tokyo redevelopment: 1. To create a system of linear development.

2. To find a means of bringing the city structure, the transportation system, and urban architecture into an organic unity.

3. To find a new urban spatial order that would reflect the open organization and the spontaneous mobility of contemporary society.

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LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

Tangue was able to find a solution for an urban sprawl by extending the city towards the waters. We find ourselves dealing with our polemic in a similar way which justifies our interest in this case study.

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+ parameters

Hydrodynamics at coast, Waves.

"Arms heaving on oars Struggling to conquer the wave Off Kanagawa It seems we are doomed Sure to sink to the sea floor To fight is futile"

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- Blake Griffin

Therefore, it is crucial to understand oceanography, notably waves themselves that represent a dynamic parameter that will shape our city.

Ocean surface waves are classified differently between capillary waves, ultra gravity waves, gravity waves, infragravity waves, long-period waves, ordinary tidal waves, and transitional waves. For each of these classifications a different period band going from <0.1 seconds to >24 hours respectively. The overall oscillatory motion on the ocean surface is the combination of a large variety of waves that are categorized according to the generation forces and restoring forces.

Generation forces are forces exerted on the ocean to generate waves. Wind, atmospheric pressure gradients, earthquakes, storms, and gravitational attraction are at the basis of these forces.

Restoring forces are the forces that cause the wave to crash and return to its horizontal state. Surface tension, gravity, and Coriolis forces are the basis of this notion.

In conclusion, the built-up energy in a wave breaks when the ratio of the wave height to its wavelength is >1/7 which causes instability and breakage. This information will help in understanding how the architecture of the city will cause such a ratio.

Swell

WIND

Fetch

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LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

Debuting our reflection by this phrase, we have decided that our project must not be blocking or defying the strong waves generated by the increasing wind speed but rather adapt to it to smooth its passing. Therefore, it is crucial to understand oceanography, notably waves themselves that represent a dynamic parameter that will shape our city.

Fully developed wind sea

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Capillary to wind sea

"never swim against the tide", a phrase that none know its origins, but all know its meaning.

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+ parameters

Hydrodynamics at coast, Breakwater.

To protect cities from the crashing and flooding waves, coastal structures have been set in place to form a sort of barricade. Therefore, to understand how our city must protect itself and the city it lays on, special attention must be attributed to this subject to be able to design a wave reduction system.

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Floating Breakwaters A breakwater is an artificial offshore structure that protects the harbor or shore. It is designed in a way to intercept waves, preventing floodings.

Gaelle Mouaykel and Melina Khater

The mechanism design of the breakwater lies in its width, where the width must be calculated to cover a minimal dimension able to break the waves.

Several subtypes of floating breakwaters exist.

Whether it is a box, pontoon, mat, or tethered float they can all be installed in deep water and present a minimal effect on marine life under it.

Also, breakwaters offer a flexible layout that can be re-arranged, added, or substituted at any time without any effort.

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Heave Motion

Sway Motion

Roll Motion

Motion and inspiration We are inspired by the concept of breakwater to understand how our city will be able to act as a breakwater itself, by resisting the waves and reducing its impact to protect the coastal city it lies on.

By understanding the way a breakwater floats and the different ways it can move, we can imagine how the components of our city will take the different forms that assure its resilience.

LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

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+ experiments

Unit and Cluster Morphology. experiment #1

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Breakwaters rely on morphology for effective wave reduction performance.

We can deduce that when the singular units are grouped to form a bigger 'cluster', they breakdown the waves and reduce their velocity.

Having concluded that the resistance of the unit increases when grouped, we then experiment (#2) with the notion of Density and Porosity. Three types of components are made, the first with different sized gaps between the clusters and the second and third having no gaps between the clusters. We can observe, that the composition with no gaps only pushes the waves to the sides, whereas the one with different gaps allows the smooth filtration of the wave.

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Experiment #1 studies the behavior of the different dispositions and forms our units can take when placed in water. With the help of a Computational Dynamic Simulator, we can observe the velocity reduced after passing the fluid through 3 types of patterns: linear, random, and deformed.

experiment #2

LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

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+ experiments

Resistance.

Wave reduction arrangement Experiment #3 studies the collision force of waves as they hit the clusters and break. Different patterns are tested to find the most suitable wave reduction arrangement as a function of wave height and platform width.

20 This experiment aims to integrate wave equation in cluster disposition, testing the relationship of this parameter in the system. The study of the arrangement will help us define high risk and low-risk zones which will help us choose the distribution of functions in our floating city.

Gaelle Mouaykel and Melina Khater

After deducting the suitable arrangement, we layout our clusters from a bigger size to a smaller as a function of the five safety zones concluded. Those clusters are subjected to height alterations defined by the wave heights.

The input values and variables employed for this experiment are the following: - Incident wave height is equal to 8,6,4, and 2m - Wave period is equal to 10,8, and 6 seconds.

Stability.

We use cellular automata logic to generate the cluster's form. By choosing the number of units to 'survive' or 'discard' surplus cells, the units on the lower levels become less and less which narrows the clusters towards a thinner bottom. The purpose of using this gradual reduction startegy is considering the generated form's relation to structural performance and floating stability that when encountering waves. For those reasons, CA was helping to get the optimized individual while taking into account the relationship between basic units and the environmental scenario.

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+ experiments

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Having the pyramid-like cluster, we then test the volume obtained. This volume must have the notions of mass, gravity, and buoyoncy in mind to achieve floating.

LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

By each iteration, the generative cell will move on to the next level which means the previous level is the base for the following level. By this way, the form evolves into a pyramid shape. Also, the number of growth layers can also be controlled, therefore can be adjusted for appropriate design requirements.

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+ experiments

Stability.

To ensure cluster stability, we moved on to studying the weight each public function and habitation needs. The following balance was measured by units.

First, we started by fixing a unit that is modulable according to the needs. The unit was calculated to approximately weigh 84KN.

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Then, we moved on to calculate the weight of public functions that will be inserted in our city. Those functions will make up the topography of the city, where the public aspect links the clusters together.

After calculating both unit and functions, we simulated our clusters by balancing the upper surface containing the functions with the underwater units.

Gaelle Mouaykel and Melina Khater

With the aid of this balance and cellular automata, we were able to synthesize the following cluster forms presented in diagram#1. The iteration of the same function provided us with the different possibilities and options for the form of the cluster.

To be able to decide which form is the most adequate, we tested the clusters under the Fluid simulator to deduce the optimum form for wave reduction and wave impact.

LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

Iterations

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+ planning

Synthese.

The studies and experiments contribute to the following city planning.

The study on density and porosity led us to have a cluster morphology.

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The arrangement and pattern experiment laid out the zones in our city that influenced the cluster's dimensions and functions. Clusters that are in zone 1, the zone that is directly in face of the waves are bigger and higher and thus take a more public function such as Port that receives ships intended to arrive at the old Beirut Port.

Whereas, the clusters that are to the land's side take a smaller scale and a more residential aspect where pedestrians are allowed to walk safely.

The clusters, each being considered as a neighborhood in the city, take their form from the experiments and iterations done to achieve the optimal wave reduction form. Also, the Groupement of different clusters recalls the urban morphology in Beirut as highlighted in the plan below.

Keeping in mind that our floating city is in need of an infrastructure that assures its functionality, the latter is extended from Beirut's infrastructure, joining them together and making our floating city an extension of our Beirut.

The port's silo thus becomes the focal point of our project, a node that arranges the distribution of infrastructure and clusters.

LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

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Clusters.

The different modelization of the unit is experimented. The unit is a offers the residents mixity and flexibility. A family can decide to live in two units as well as change one day to living in a 4 unit appartment.

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The cluster in itself, the neighborhood, becomes independant and sustainable. The center of the cluster is carved to remove unnessasary weight from the cluster and assure stability. However, this hole allows natural light to infiltrate the units that are underwater.

Gaelle Mouaykel and Melina Khater

To ensure a renewable energy, and to make use of the increasing velocity of wind and waves, vertical elements hang from the cluster to transform the energy of waves into one that generates electricty used by the city.

Like a boat's hull, the materials used for the clusters is a metallic one. the hexagonal form of the clusters covers a large surface all while minimizing the use of materials. also, the use of metal has allowed us to have a modular construction where the prefabricated modules are deigned at shore and then transported to its position.

For food and water, ocean agricukture is practiced by the residents of the cluster. Also, the surface of the cluster can be planted and cultivated.

LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

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Spatial Quality.

Each cluster becomes a neighborhood in itself, where public functions that assure its smooth running are in close proximity.

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The floating part of the cluster englobes public functions such as lounge, restaurants, bars, libraries, coworking spaces, greenhouse farming, and others.

Also, one may typically find mini markets, local bars, and cafes that give a more human-scaled atmosphere to the residents.

Gaelle Mouaykel and Melina Khater

The prefabricated units are laid out one on to of the other, opening up to the hollow center where residents domesticate the terraces by planting them.

LOCI - UCLouvain, Brussels - Conception Numeriques - LBARC2080

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Silo.

The Beirut port has always been operated by a governmental party. Living 100 meters away, the residents were never allowed to access the port neither wonder what was stored next to their homes and families.

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On August 4, 2019, the concrete silo acted as a shield, partially deviating the explosion towards the sea, decreasing the impact on the West side of Beirut.

Today, the silo represents the focal point of our project, the node at which the urban connections from Beirut to our city meet.

Gaelle Mouaykel and Melina Khater

Today, the silo becomes a monument, a symbol of collective pain and grief to a youth that screams for a future...

Today, the silo taking the function of meteorological center represents ambition and hope for a better future. The silo is the control center of our city, a laboratory that monitors the wind force and wave rise to parameter our city accordingly.

To adapt the silo to our city and ensure its sustainability in face of wave rise, we use the amphibious method to make float our structure and adapt to the water levels.

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