Ecological minimalism: an approach for designing urban parks

As defined by the author, “Ecological Minimalism” means an intervention in the design of already developed spaces, which improves ecological function while increasing flexibility and amount of use. As a method for design, Ecological Minimalism prioritizes the subtraction of existing materials over the addition of new materials, whether organic or inorganic. In that way, Ecological Minimalism offers a useful technique for transforming and repurposing new landscapes from ones that already exist. In this thesis, the test site is a portion of the Detroit riverfront, which serves disparate uses today: it is a busy entry to Canada, where several ports are operating extensively, and a series of parks and plazas along the riverfront provide recreational opportunities. However, the riverfront is wrought with desolation. Previous efforts to redesign Detroit’s riverfront have not been adequately forward-thinking enough to provide the riverfront with a provocative design for revitalization. “Ecological Minimalism” offers an opportunity for innovation with benefits for the river ecosystem, the City of Detroit, and its citizens. The principles illustrated in this demonstration project could be applied to redesign of other urban parks in parallel situations.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.L.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Landscape Architecture

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Wang, Huijun

Contributors dc:contributor

• Deming, Margaret E.
• Hays, David L.
• Emmerling-DiNovo, Carol

• Ecological design
• minimalism
• urban parks
• landscape architecture
• Detroit riverfront

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2013 Huijun Wang

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/45546

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/45546