Stormwater District
ARCH 401
Fall 2022
Houston's urban surface is flat, flood-prone, and largely impervious – much of its surface is concrete and asphalt. Since Hurricane Harvey, one out of eight homes permitted in Houston are in 100-year floodplains. Given the context of Houston’s rapid development and growth, new urban proposals fail to address or mitigate the extent of the next storm. There is an opportunity to recast the identity of the city: instead of a territory driven by economic development and profit, what if we reimagined the city as a "stormwater district" that reduces the burden of flooding and improves water quality downstream, strengthens the relationship between the streets and the bayous, and creates new civic infrastructures over time?
To render visible the hidden infrastructures of hydrology and provide community cohesion, we propose a network of public amenities that make each step of stormwater treatment more legible along Sawyer Street: 1. collection and storage (transit hub), 2. filtration (research and educational center) and 3. conveyance (terraced amphitheater and canoe launch). Looking beyond utilitarian systems, our design works across scales to optimize runoff in the public sphere.
Houston, TX
To render visible the hidden infrastructures of hydrology and provide community cohesion, we propose a network of public amenities that make each step of stormwater treatment more legible along Sawyer Street: 1. collection and storage (transit hub), 2. filtration (research and educational center) and 3. conveyance (terraced amphitheater and canoe launch). Looking beyond utilitarian systems, our design works across scales to optimize runoff in the public sphere.
Houston, TX