Wellington's Lost Streams: ecosystem regeneration supporting urban agriculture using architecture

Wellington's piped streams and harbour are both heavily polluted by land-based activities. Riparian zones around urban streams are almost non-existent, and native ecosystems are suffering or have been completely removed. These issues are to be engaged through architectural design focusing on ecosystem regeneration, cross-programmed with public infrastructure, and urban agriculture. Natural habitat in Aotearoa has dramatically diminished since European colonisation and continues to suffer significantly from the expansion of the built environment and farmland. The ideas that this design-based research explores is the incorporation of living-systems to aid in regeneration of native species and habitat, and prevent water pollution within urban contexts. The addition of permaculture practices will also be explored for its role in supporting civic life alongside public interaction through socially active design. Through these ideas, the goal is to create a network of architectural interventions that define a model of living which is regenerative to the environment. This would work towards people and nature coexisting in symbiotic relationships within urban centres.