My site is located between Grandview Highway and Renfrew Street, which is
currently an employment area dominated by large paved surfaces and very limited
greenery.
Because it sits between the SkyTrain line, the CPR railway, and Grandview
Highway, the site is constantly exposed to strong traffic noise coming from both
the north and south sides.
And there’s only a small visible segment of the existing creek passing through
this area, but historically, a larger creek used to flow here.
So, my design begins with the idea of reviving this historical creek—daylighting it
and connecting it with the existing creek.
To ensure the site still provides sufficient employment space, I followed the Rupert
and Renfrew Station Area Plan setback requirements and relocated the
employment buildings slightly. This adjustment opens up the central portion of the
site for ecological restoration and flood mitigation.
In the center, where the daylighted creek and the existing creek merge, I use the
cut-and-fill method to create a seasonal wetland.
This new wetland will not only store excess water during storm events and
mitigate 100-year flooding, but also become a dynamic natural space that
changes seasonally.
The excavated soil is reused to form earth berms of different heights and scales
surrounding the wetland.
These mounds act as both visual and acoustic buffers, enclosing the wetland to
reduce surrounding traffic noise.
Inside this lowered wetland area, the topography allows natural water sounds to
bounce and amplify, creating an amphitheater-like soundscape. When people
stand here, they can clearly hear the flowing water instead of traffic noise.
To let visitors get even closer to nature, I designed an extended platform projecting
from the berm. It allows people to experience the soundscape more closely while
minimizing disturbance to wildlife, especially birds.
From our preliminary research, we found that vegetation of varying heights can
help absorb and break up sound waves of different frequencies.
So, on the west side, where the terrain is relatively flat, I planted dense layers of
forest vegetation as a sound buffer zone.
In addition, I introduced walls of different widths and heights, made from
biodegradable mycelium bricks.
These walls are placed closer to the highway and railway, where noise is strongest,
and gradually transition to denser forest planting closer to the wetland.
The mycelium brick walls serve as temporary solid sound barriers during the early
stages of vegetation growth.
Over time, as they naturally decompose, they enrich the soil and support new
plant growth, making the system both functional and regenerative.
Since my site is positioned upstream, I also focused on filtration and remediation
before the water continues downstream.
Along the edge near the buildings on the west side and railway, I designed
continuous raingardens to biologically filter surface runoff.
Further along the daylighted creek, a series of small, shallow wetland ponds
provides multiple layers of filtration before water enters the larger seasonal
wetland.
For the sections, I chose two that illustrate distinct noise mitigation strategies:
● Section A–A’ shows how topography influences sound. The outer slope of
the earth mound blocks anthrophonic noise, while the inner side reflects and
amplifies natural water sounds.
● Section B–B’ highlights the gradual transition of vegetation density,
creating an enclosed habitat for wildlife. Here, you can also see the
mycelium brick walls that evolve over time from solid sound barriers into
fertile ground for future vegetation.