(UPDATED)
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Image Credit: Abdul-Karim Ngoliba
A new collaboration, made possible by the British Council’s Architecture, Design, Fashion team’s #FutureByDesign, with partners and young people in Scotland and in Ghana. Cove Park brings together Ghanaian-Filipino agrowaste designer Mae-ling Lokko and Scottish architect Tom Morton of Arc Architects to collaboratively design a hybrid, eco-sustainable and accessible ‘open landscape classroom’ on the 50-acre site where Cove Park resides. They will work in collaboration with a multidisciplinary cohort of young people from across Scotland – including students from the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow – and the interdisciplinary Ashesi D:Lab in Accra, to co-design and co-programme flood control technologies that integrate biodiversity and public infrastructure in the Klottey-Korle constituency, that use local materials (different ranges of local flora, soil and absorption media). The chosen site for this project is the Efua Sutherland Park in West Ridge, Accra, Ghana.
More here: https://youtu.be/QTQfJt_LIPQ
ABOUT THE MENTORS
TAYE
Emmanuel Taye is the Design Lab Mobile Mentor for this year’s Flood Project. He is a research assistant at University of Ghana, Centre for African Wetlands, and also the 2019 Winner of the International Wader Study Group Small Grants for his project on Breeding ecology and foraging behavior of Black-winged stilts in Ghana.
Emmanuel will be working with global architects to use local natural materials in the design of eco-sustainable, and flood proof spaces.
MAE
Mae Ling Lokko is a professor at RPI in New York state. She is the principal architect in this project. She has written numerous scholarly articles in her field: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=huo0qnAAAAAJ&hl=en
Mae Looks forward to working with bright and creative young minds on integration of flood tolerant native plants into bioswale design, and having fun while at it!
ABOUT THE TEAM
There are eight inspiring members on this team with diversity in institutions, academic discipline and nationalities.
Kenneth Korah hopes to "contribute in generating innovative solutions whilst connecting with others and acquiring new skills." Abdul Zakaria is a mechanical engineering student who hopes to contribute his knowledge towards coming up with innovative solutions to flood control in Ghana. Abdul Karim Ngoliba looks forward to a great networking experience.
THE JOURNEY SO FAR
The Problem Space
One of the worst tragedies in Ghana is the June 3rd floods in the year 2015, to which at least 200 humans lost their lives.
"What we do in Ghana is we tar and tile everywhere, and leave no green spaces...so rain water doesn't seep into the ground. It flows around and storms into people's houses." - Dr. Gordon Adomdza.
The Research
The team has identified flooding hotspots in Ghana using Google Maps. Even more amazing, they have added areas which they suspect or know are prone to flooding.
With regards to deliverables, participants were asked to prepare presentations with answers to research questions such as:
The causes and effects of flooding at the site.
Design parameters contributing to flooding in the identified sites. Parameters such as construction materials, slope and width of street, and capacity of drainage.
Key Stakeholders involved.
Challenges likely to be faced in the implementation of the solution
June 3oth
On the thirtieth of June, the team accompanied by Design Lab coordinators, visited Efua Sutherland park for research, measurement, photography, as well as liaising with stakeholders and park management.
Task carried out included:
Production of a plan and section drawing of the bioswale onsite
Documentation of flora, types of soil conditions and groundwater on site,
Documentation of water flow on site
Development of a plan and timeline for online community engagement and volunteers
View from above, Efua Sutherland Park. Video Credit: Mae Ling Lokko.
July 2021
Park users are helping to collect plastic waste generated during their recreation time, Invitations were also sent out for a park site seeing scheduled for the 7th of August 2021.
August 7th 2021
Banners were put up to direct visitors to the construction site; awaiting them was a an interactive presentation aimed at spreading project awareness.
7th August marked an instrumental day as team members, key stakeholders and the general public met to finish the construction and plant the first seeds. The latter of which were planted by Hon. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, the Member of Parliament for the Korle-Klottey constituency. In total, there was 18 bags in the inner circle and 52 in the outer circle. The construction also featured a Harvesting of the plants was set for November 2021.
Layering of terraforming materials.
First gravels, cocopeat as absorption
media then black soil as planting media.
The lessons drawn from the project will be used to scale up the design and construct larger city bioswales to protect against floods.
Recommended Resources:
NDS Channel Flow Capacities
NDS Principles of Exterior Drainage(Short Course)
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