Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Recreation plays an important role in improving both physical and mental health in an urban society. The Quality Evaluation Tool (QET) was published in 2014 as a tool for creating inclusive recreational space in healthcare settings. Meanwhile, ongoing changes in the global climate lead to new challenges to society, one such challenge is the threat from intense precipitation and subsequent flooding. This project set out to investigate the combination of recreation and flood adaptation within the same space.
To define recreational functions for a wide public, the project made use of the QET. By adjusting the design principles defined in the QET for use outside healthcare settings, generalised principles were described that are suitable for wider use. These principles, together with design principles on flood adaptation found in literature, were then applied to create a design proposal for a new park in Länghem, Sweden. Combining flood adaptation and recreation requires the designer to have an understanding of both subjects and the ability to find creative solutions. All functions described by the twelve design principles were fulfilled in the design proposal. Site-specific solutions that provide space for water should be implemented based on well-defined local objectives for flood adaptation. The QET proved to be a useful tool in reaching the end product however to evaluate the quality of the tool as a foundation for public green space, further research is required to compare it against literature on recreation or by evaluating a realised project built on the QET.