ARK CITY
方舟之城
COMPLETED WITH ZUO YUCHEN AND GONG SHUJIE IN TONGJI UNIVERSITY, SHANGHAI IN 2019.
“IN THE SIX HUNDREDTH YEAR OF NOAH’S LIFE, ON THE SEVENTEETH DAY OF THE SECOND MONTH - ON THAT DAY ALL THE SPRINGS OF THE GREAT DEEP BURST FORTH, AND THE FLOODGATES OF THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED. AND RAIN FELL ON THE EARTH FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS. ON THE VERY DAY NOAH AND HIS SONS, SHEM, HAM AND JAPHETH, TOGETHER WITH HIS WIFE AND THE WIVES OF HIS THREE SONS, ENTERED THE ARK. THEY HAD WITH THEM EVERY WILD ANIMAL ACCORDING TO ITS KIND, ALL LIVESTOCK ACCORDING TO THEIR KINDS, EVERY CREATURE THAT MOVES ALONG THE GROUND ACCORDING TO ITS KIND AND EVERY BIRD ACCORDING TO ITS KIND, EVERYTHING WITH WINGS.”
- GENESIS 7:11-13
THE ARK CITY SEES ITSELF AS AN INTERPRETATION OF NOAH’S ARK FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT IN WHICH MANY SPECIES ON LAND WERE SAVED FROM A SEVERE FLOOD DISASTER. LYING ALONG THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN HUANGPU RIVER AND YANGJING CREEK, THE REGION IS ALL BUT AT THE MERCY OF RISING WATER LEVELS EXPEDITED BY CLIMATE CHANGE. ONE OF THE CRUCIAL EXISTING COUNTER-MEASURES AGAINST THE 500 OR 1000 YEAR FLOOD LEVELS INCLUDES THE CONSTRUCTION OF 7.4 METRES FLOOR WALLS. THE ARK CITY THUS SEEKS TO INTEGRATE MORE SUSTAINABLE AND “GENTLE” APPROACH WHEN CREATING A SAFE HEAVEN FOR ITS PEOPLE IN TIMES OF FLOOD.
THE CITY MITIGATES FROM WATER DISASTERS BY ELEVATING CRITICAL GROUND LEVELS BASED ON THE 100-1000 YEAR FLOOD LEVEL PROJECTIONS. THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SKY LINK “MESH” SYSTEM ALLOWS FOR CONTINUITY OF STREET-LIFE AND DISASTER RELIEF ACTIVITIES IN THE FACE OF MEGA-FLOODS, FORMING VARIOUS CONNECTIONS BETWEEN VARIOUS PARTS OF CITY AND THE METRO STATIONS.
SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE CITY PRIDES ITSELF IN IMPLEMENTING ADAPTIVE MEASURES TO THE UNIQUE FLOOD CYCLES PRESENT IN CHINA: THE NATURALISED LANDSCAPES AIM TO CONSTRUCT A STRONG SPONGE LAYER WHILE ALONG THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT LIE POCKETS OF RAIN GARDENS, CONTROLLING URBAN RUN-OFF DURING HEAVY RAINS WITH RISING WATER LEVELS. ADDITIONALLY, THE CITY IS A PROTOTYPE MODEL INTENDED FOR DISTRICTS LYING ALONG CREEKS, IN HOPE OF COLLECTIVELY MITIGATING THE GREATER FLOOD PROBLEM SHANGHAI FACES. WITH THE ABOVE MEASURES IN PLACE, THE CITY HENCE BECOMES THE MODERN DAY’S NOAH ARK, PRESERVING THE FACETS OF URBAN LIFE DURING THE TRYING TIMES.
COMPLETED BY CHING YU HAN, ZUO YUCHEN AND GONG SHUJIE, 2019.