Artificial wetland flood preention, broken leveev in Mexico by Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

Article source: Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

Floating levee piers to trap sediment and divert freshwater:

The idea behind this project attempts to combine an architecture with technology, where by-products of new materials create impossible forms because computer technology has become an inherent part of the design process, such is the application of typology in this project.

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

• Architects: Margot Krasojevic Arcitect
• Project: Artificial wetland flood preention, broken leveev
• Location: Mexico, USA
• Software used: Autodesk Revit and 3ds max

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

The Mississippi river delta coastal plane is one of the largest wetlands in the United States. It drains directly into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 470,000 cubic feet per second.

The design uses the existing levee’s which are in part responsible for the flooding of wetlands due to the difficulty to drain and redirect flood water during the swell; wetlands depend on sediment to settle and new wetlands to form, this is impossible as nearby levee’s straightjacket the lower Mississippi river preventing sediment movement into the wetlands.

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

This project breaks the existing levee structures, adapting them in order to allow for sedimentation and new growth of wetlands by introducing a series of tethered floating levee piers to divert rising water levels, these striated interlocking elements are positioned where freshwater meets saltwater to the east of the delta, protecting the freshwater wetlands by filtering and allowing sediment to settle and build land whilst creating a salinity balance to encourage existing vegetation and wild life.

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

The structure itself is a series of interlaced piers that project from the coastline, made from post consumer plastic fibre mesh, these `tentacles’ are released from the cerami-crete levee shell sections upon contact with rising water levels, they unfold and inflate into the oncoming swell sinking as they absorb water creating an artificial barrier trapping sediment and absorbing flood water. Each fully immersed tentacle expands and falls on top of the next creating a temporary wall preventing water from flooding the wetlands and destroying the natural habitat. Once the floods stabilise the tentacles are emptied, using pumps the water is redirected out of the delta and released in more environmentally stable landscapes which may require water irrigation. The tentacles are released on impact with floodwater pressure.

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

These interlocking levee’s are open ended structures that capture sediment and allow for the natural movement across the delta, acting like nets trapping and creating a framework onto which the sediment can lodge and grow in depth and density in order to increase the land building sediment whilst attempting to dampen waves functioning as a breakwater, absorbing energy and protecting the shoreline from further damage.

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

Image Courtesy © Margot Krasojevic Arcitect

Tags: Mexico, USA

Categories: 3dS Max, Autodesk, Revit

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