Space for Place

<p><b>The consequence of homogenised place is becoming a growing concern across New Zealand’s built environment (Najafi, 2011). In a time where placelessness, sameness and architectural standardization threaten the concept of spatial identity, there is an opportunity to research further into how we can design to maintain cultural and spatial differentiation within New Zealand’s cities.</b></p> <p>Wellington City is New Zealand’s capital, it is an old city with copious layers of topographic and environmental depth. With the harbour water and undulating terrain greatly contributing to the city’s identity, the somewhat disenfranchised population that occupy Wellingtons Streets are lacking this connection to place. This research is looking to defend the notion of a bounded place through reinterpreting our architectural identity. This research searches for continuity in the face of change, where takings from the environment’s past and present will come together to create one unified future identity.</p> <p>This thesis investigates design opportunities within Wellington’s Civic square, design explorations and interventions seek to encourage and foster a rich sense of attachment to place. Architectural qualities are used as tools, with which to think through and create connections around which people actively create identities. The final design outcome aims to facilitate discussion of those qualities of public space that encourage and sustain concern for Wellington’s social identity and its contribution to a sense of place.</p>

Space for Place

<p><b>The consequence of homogenised place is becoming a growing concern across New Zealand’s built environment (Najafi, 2011). In a time where placelessness, sameness and architectural standardization threaten the concept of spatial identity, there is an opportunity to research further into how we can design to maintain cultural and spatial differentiation within New Zealand’s cities.</b></p> <p>Wellington City is New Zealand’s capital, it is an old city with copious layers of topographic and environmental depth. With the harbour water and undulating terrain greatly contributing to the city’s identity, the somewhat disenfranchised population that occupy Wellingtons Streets are lacking this connection to place. This research is looking to defend the notion of a bounded place through reinterpreting our architectural identity. This research searches for continuity in the face of change, where takings from the environment’s past and present will come together to create one unified future identity.</p> <p>This thesis investigates design opportunities within Wellington’s Civic square, design explorations and interventions seek to encourage and foster a rich sense of attachment to place. Architectural qualities are used as tools, with which to think through and create connections around which people actively create identities. The final design outcome aims to facilitate discussion of those qualities of public space that encourage and sustain concern for Wellington’s social identity and its contribution to a sense of place.</p>

Experimental Study of Underwater Wireless Optical Communication from Clean Water to Turbid Harbor under Various Conditions

In this paper, texts were experimentally transmitted by pulse width modulation (PWM) using an underwater wireless optical communication system (UWOC) in a channel containing water of varying salinity as a result of changes in the concentration of sodium chloride (NaCl). Mathematical equations are used using a MATLAB program to compare theoretical and practical results at different slop angle (θ0). (NaCl) concentration was changed from (0% w/v) to (90% w/v) to achieve different salinity of water (i.e., from clear water to turbid water). A diode laser with a power of 30 mW and a wavelength of 532 nm has been employed in the transmitter. The experimental results show that the extinction coefficient or the overall attenuation C(λ) is equal to (0.083/m) in the water containing a low concentration of (NaCl) which is consistent with pure seawater. Additionally, the obtained optical power (PR) and the signal to noise ratio (S/N) decreases to (27.6) mW and (23.99) dB, respectively. Furthermore, it was found that the water had a maximum total attenuation C(λ) equal to (2.565/m) in the water containing a high concentration of (NaCl) which was compatible with turbid harbour water, as well as the received power and (S/N) decreases to (2.306) mW and (13.2) dB, respectively. The theoretical results were similar to the practical results when the slope angle of the target or detector relative to the optical transmitter was (zero).

Continuing ¹³⁷ Cs release to the sea from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant through 2012

The rate of cesium-137 (137Cs) release to the sea from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant for the period until September 2012 was estimated. Publicly released data on 137Cs radioactivity in seawater near the power plant by Tokyo Electric Power Company strongly suggest a continuing release of radionuclides to the sea. The plant has an artificial harbour facility, and the exchange rate of harbour water with surrounding seawater was estimated by the decrease in radioactivity immediately after an intense radioactive water release. The estimated exchange rate of water in the harbour was 0.44 d−1 during the period from 6 to 19 April. The 137Cs radioactivity in the harbour water was substantially higher than that of seawater outside and remained relatively stable after June 2011. A quasi-steady state was assumed with continuous water exchange, and the average release rate of 137Cs was estimated to be 93 GBq d−1 in summer 2011 and 8.1 GBq d−1 in summer 2012.

Continuing ¹³⁷Cs release to the sea from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant through 2012

Rate of cesium-137 (137Cs) release to the sea from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant was estimated until September 2012. Based on publicly released data of 137Cs in seawater near the power plant by Tokyo Electric Power Company, a continuing release of radionuclides to the sea is strongly suggested. The plant has an artificial harbour facility, and the exchange rate of harbour water with surrounding seawater was estimated by decrease of radioactivity immediately after an intense event of radioactive water release. The estimated exchange rate of water in the harbour is 0.44 day−1 during the period from 6 to 19 April 2011. 137Cs radioactivity of the harbour water is substantially higher than seawater outside and remained relatively stable after June 2011. A quasi-steady state was assumed with continuous water exchange, and an average release rate of 137Cs was estimated to be 93 GBq day−1 in summer 2011 and 8.1 GBq day−1 in summer 2012.

Two-layer hydraulic exchange flow through the Burlington Ship Canal

The exchange flow through the Burlington Ship Canal connecting Hamilton Harbour with Lake Ontario is investigated, using a two-layer internal hydraulics model. The summer exchange features an upper layer of polluted Harbour Water flowing from the harbour into the lake, whereas a lower layer of fresh Lake Ontario Water flowing from the lake into the harbour. We predict this exchange, taking into account the effects of both friction and barotropic forcing of multiple frequencies. Predictions of density interface and volume flux compare well with experimental and field data. The interface varies non-linearly with distance along the canal, with and without barotropic forcing. Our results indicate that the exchange flow is highly frictional. The barotropic forcing comprises oscillation modes of different frequency; these individual forcing modes cause the interface and layer velocities to fluctuate significantly in time, but their influence on the time average flows through the canal is minimal.

Temperature Impact of the Industrial Cooling Water Discharges in a Long Boat Slip of Hamilton Harbour

The thermal structure of industrial cooling water discharged into a long, narrow and shallow, straight open boat slip (Ottawa Street Slip, [OSS]) was investigated by field measurements during the hottest summer month in 2006. Three-dimensional hydrodynamic and thermal transport models were established and verified with measurements. The main purposes of this study were to understand the mechanism of the thermal structure in the OSS during the hot summer season under the present cooling water discharge conditions, to investigate the influence of harbour water on the thermal structure in the slip, and to establish a means for scientific predictions of the impact of cooling water discharges in a future study. Toward this end, the water temperature at multiple locations along the OSS and meteorological data near the study site were collected during the summer period of 2006. The collected data reveal: (1) during the measured summer period, the water temperature in the slip can be higher than 30°C during a period of high air temperatures; (2) water temperature variations within short periods of 15, 30, 60, and 120 minutes were no more than 4°C during the entire measurement period; (3) water temperature in the slip is controlled by both air and cooling discharge temperatures, and the cooling water temperature's increase due to industrial cooling processing seems to be relatively independent of the intake water temperature; therefore, the water temperature in the slip varied mainly with the air temperature; (4) since water temperature in the slip seemed to closely follow the intake water temperature, the intake channel may need to be optimized to maximize the possibility of getting the coolest water available from Hamilton Harbour; and (5) the cooler harbour water could not penetrate deeply into the slip. The collected water temperature data were also used for verification of three-dimensional hydrodynamic and transport models. The simulation results showed that the established model could reasonably well reproduce general thermal structures in the entire slip. This achieved the ultimate goal of the study for establishing a model to assess the impacts of further increase of cooling water discharge into the OSS.