World’s Best Campus When It Rains A development proposition of a part of the Chalmers campus area, focusing on stormwater management regarding flooding and copper pollution as well as improved social environment

Abstract

This bachelor’s thesis examines stormwater and social spaces at Chalmers University of Technology, Campus Johanneberg, Sweden. The aim is to produce a concept proposal to help the campus become “The world’s best campus when it rains”. Issues regarding stormwater are prevalent in the area and prognoses show that the problems will only intensify in the future as a product of climate change. New precipitation patterns risk increasing stormwater flow, which raises the importance of efficient stormwater management. The chosen project area already suffers from minor flooding which causes difficulties for pedestrians and an unkempt appearance that does not reflect Chalmers’ reputation and standing. Another complication is pollution since the area includes buildings with copper roofing. Since stormwater measures can demand major redevelopments of an area this also provides an opportunity to improve the campus’ social space. The project therefore investigates how such additional quality factors can be integrated into stormwater solutions. By researching literature on stormwater and social spaces, conducting interviews with scholars and stakeholders, simulating flooding and gathering opinions of the campus community through a survey, a list of requirements and requests was established. By examining this list while conceptualising, two area design proposals were created. These concept drafts included technical solutions such as rain gardens, stormwater ponds, stormwater reservoirs and permeable surfaces among others. These were then evaluated partly by the rational method and storage capacity to determine how each element of the proposals could handle stormwater flooding. The drafts were also examined based on how they met campus social space needs. When the selection process was complete, a final concept was created. It includes a reshaped pathway, a large rain garden for cloudburst management, a major redesign of a decorative pool into a stormwater deposition pond, a new green area and a new social area that protects from rain. Additionally a green roof and a smaller rain garden are added mainly for copper treatment. When evaluating The Final Concept, it was found that the collective solutions could reduce stormwater flooding volume by almost 70%. However, the redevelopment of the project site could be considered very extensive. To mitigate cost and disturbances to campus activity implementation of the concept could be done partially or in stages. The discussion also held a general prioritisation of the solutions.