GRIFFITH ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
with Majed Abuseif, Thomas Brady, Murray Brown, Ariel Hernadez,
Natasha Maher
A/Prof Karine Dupre and Dr Ruwan Fernando
13/12/2019
CONTENT
1-INTRODUCTION AIM 3 LIMITATIONS 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
2-SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW 5
REDUCING HEAT GAIN 6 DIVERSITY IN ENERGY SOURCES 7
WASTE MANAGEMENT 8 ACOUSTIC ISSUES 9 CROWD MANAGEMENT
10 EFFECTIVE USE OF OLDER INFRASTRUCTURE 11 THE NEW
PRECINCT: PHASE ONE 12
1-INTRODUCTION
2
AIM
Sea World has invited Griffith University Architecture to consult
on the sustainable
practices of their park and
specifically the Phase One of their new ride precinct, New
Atlantis. The new precinct
includes landscaping and three amusement rides: Vortex,
Leviathan and Trident. Sea World is a theme park based
on marine mammals, featuring animal exhibits and
providing rides and other attractions. Sea
World Research & Rescue Foundation also
contributes to marine conservation and rehabilitation.
LIMITATIONS
This proposal is based on the documents kindly provided, one site
visit and interviews
with staff,
beside previously undertaken visits as guests. However, as a
student work,
this report does not
accept liability for any errors, inaccuracies or
omissions.
Usually, a sustainable assessment would address the social,
economic and
environmental aspects of one area. Yet due to the
time constraint and very specific
nature and function of the park, only some features of the
environmental component
were addressed.
This is a clear limitation and a more extensive study, based
on
collected data, would provide a
deeper insight into the assessment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We wish to thank Wayne Phillips and Cameron Crawford for the time
they spent to
unveil Sea
World to us.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report investigates the potential for enhancing sustainable
practices at Sea
World under the context of the
construction of its new precinct, New Atlantis. It is
divided into three main sections that
are Assessment, Precedents and Proposals.
Due to the very specific nature and function of the park, six
categories were selected
for
the assessment: reducing heat gain, diversity in energy sources,
waste
management, acoustic issues, crowd management and
effective use of old
infrastructure. It was analysed that
each category is currently
under-exploited, but also presents
opportunities for enhancement.
The Precedents section shows that many best-practices and
innovative products are
already available on the market,
thus facilitating a sustainability strategy. Proposals
also
demonstrate that small-scale and larger scale projects can provide
increased
sustainability, at different costs but also
different timeframes.
For more information, please contact A/Prof. Karine Dupre at
[email protected]
OVERVIEW Methodologically, the analysis
of the entire park was undertaken, prior to the specific
analysis of the new precinct (Phase 1), thus
allowing for a better comprehensive
overview. The study was based on six selected categories assessing
sustainability in
regards to the activities being
conducted in Sea World, as follows:
1. Reducing heat gain The amount of hard surfaces that modern
development creates, causes a rise in
temperature that harms the environment, raises energy costs and
creates an overall
negative effect on the
experience.
2. Diversity in Energy Sources Different sources of
energy can reduce the carbon footprint and can also become a
selling-feature, when expressed
creatively, allowing users to understand the
infrastructure.
3. Waste Management Reducing the waste created as well
the handling of waste has an effect on the amount
of damage that is done to the
environment. As with many other categories, the use of
biodegradable materials can
easily become part of the selling-point as a ‘green’
theme park.
4. Acoustic Issues
As with heat and waste pollution, noise pollution has an effect on
the environment,
particularly on
marine life.
5. Crowd Management In this section, opportunities were
sought between providing value to visitors as well
as strengthening the ‘green’ brand.
6. Effective use of Older Infrastructure
REDUCING HEAT GAIN Human thermal comfort in outdoor
spaces contributes to the user’s satisfaction with
the environment around them. It also brings positive
associations with a place and
increases
the enjoyment of an activity. That is why in research, the field is
analysed
qualitatively as
well as through psychrometrics. Discomfort is usually caused
by
exposure to solar radiation and can reduce the user’s
ability to take part in an activity
and may lead to sunstroke or more serious
health problems such as skin cancer (note
that Australia has the second highest rate of
skin-cancer in the world). For young
children or elderly visitors, the effect of even mild
overheating can be dangerous. From the site visit, it
was rapidly noticed that guests are facing discomfort caused
by
heat stress. The reasons
for this were the high amount of hard-surfaces as well as the
high amount of solar
exposure due to the lack of shading. With 300 sunny days
(Tourist Australia, 2019) at the
Gold Coast in a typical year, this issue is serious.
Regarding the lack of shading, users
face solar exposure while moving through the
park. Most walkways have a very low albedo (the surface
absorbs most of the light
that
hits it), due to their dark colour (asphalt), leading to an
increase in the heat
stress in the surrounding area. These factors lead to an
increase in the sensible
temperature
for the spaces, which causes thermal discomfort.
Some solutions
Shading : natural via vegetation, or created by adding structures
that protect
users from the solar exposure
Increasing the albedo of the paved area: easily achieved by
applying a
reflective layer/coating to reflect the
solar radiation, which will reduce the
surface
temperature to increase the thermal comfort.
There is no measurable payback period for these elements,
however there would
possibly be a reduction in the
loads for air-conditioning with a cooler environment to
draw air from. There is also an
improvement in the users’ satisfaction by providing
cooler spaces, which is highly desirable in a
recreation-driven industry as well as
making the park more usable on rainy days. In addition, it will
help in providing a new
sustainable image for Sea World.
The car park also plays a major
role in thermal discomfort
and can dampen the user
experience, as the majority of users
enter and exit Sea World
through it. Besides the albedo
phenomenon, dark surfaces, such as
asphalt, are the cause of solar
heat
gain and in a large area they cause what is called the “heat island
effect” (HIE). HIE is
when a large area absorbs and attracts heat
which then gives off extra heat to
surrounding buildings. This means that the
surrounding buildings that are affected by
the
HIE require further artificial cooling. The lack of shading and
large area that the
car park
takes up are the two main causes for the heat gain and if these
two
problems
were resolved the user experience through the carpark would be
bettered. Another major issue with the car park
is that the asphalt is an impervious material
which means that there is no opportunity for
the ground to filter the toxic chemicals
from the vehicles. These harsh chemicals then pollute
the seaway as run-off and can
have
harsh ecological impacts. A solution would be
the creation of a multi-story car park
There is of course a stigma attached to multi story car parks that
are often
reduced to large
concrete slabs that block existing entrances, however a good
design can provide alternative solutions and
compliment the design and
sustainability of Sea
World.
DIVERSITY IN ENERGY SOURCES It is our
understanding that Sea World currently has no on-site renewable
energy
sources. Sea World
has many rides and attractions that require large amounts of energy
to be
reliably provided.
Connected to the grid allows for the consistency in the capacity
of
electricity needed to operate
the park. However, it was also noted that site
conditions allows for some renewable energy
generators. During the visit, it was stated that ‘Sea World
always has a breeze’ and
the
Gold Coast on average has 300 days of sunny days per year (BOM,
2019).
Additionally, it
was noticed that Sea World is not currently taking any advantage
of
the heavy foot traffic
circulation produced by the guests and staff, which could
generate electricity (kinetic energy).
Likewise, as a guest to the park, there is only
one way in and out to the marine park precinct, the
users would use the bridge along
the pelican area as a way of access. However,
this bridge can be more utilised not
only as a structure to provide passage through
the entire park. Some solutions
Solar panels and wind turbines : could be added mostly to the
administration and maintenance buildings, generating
electricity directly to
these buildings. Depending on the type of renewable
energy sources used, the
park can reduce some
costs by selling back to the grid
Figure 1: Diagram summarising the energy sources that could
be further explored at Sea World
7
WASTE MANAGEMENT Currently, Sea World mostly used
disposable items (containers, cups, cutlery) for
serving drinks and food in. Most are made from plastic because of
its light, robust
features
and provide many types of shapes at low cost compared with other
materials.
However, using this
material presents some issues in terms of sustainability,
both
from a global and local perspective. Plastic
is not a renewable material and requires a
lot of natural resources to be produced. Sea
World puts a lot of effort in recollecting
the scattered plastic items around the
park. At the moment, there is only one
recycling bottle container in the car park, none in the park
itself. It is also our understanding that Sea World
gets some income from selling disposable
items. It should be mentioned that despite
recycling in Australia is well established, research
shows that only 14% is reused (Pickin and Randell,
2017), while the rest is managed
by land fill and heavily affects the environment. This means
that change of attitude
and
behaviour needs incentives or better education to reach higher
efficiency. Some solutions
Using reusable items or motivate the users to recycle these
products : for example charge an extra $2 for guests to use
reusable items
and refund the $2 when
they bring them back
Using edible, biodegradable, vegan disposable containers and
cutlery: ideal for
high-waste management and fun, they are usually made
out
of a sustainable seaweed and comes in different flavours and
colours. It
would participate to the general
marketing of a marine park, as well as
environment-friendly park
Figure 2: Diagram summarising the waste strategies that could be
further explored at Sea World
8
ACOUSTIC ISSUES Sounds participate to our
sensory experience and even more while experiencing
tourist attractions. Researchers have shown that there is a
significant correlation
between soundscape satisfaction
and tourist satisfaction (Liu et al., 2017). A
satisfactory soundscape also influences behavior, decreasing stress
and aggressive
attitudes. In the same way, sounds affect
wildlife and their behavior. Road noise, machinery,
aircraft noise, loud music (greater than 55 decibels)
to cite a few are usually coined
as noise pollution (Shannon, 2019). Typical of
a theme park, Sea World’s soundscape includes a variety of areas
with
different acoustic
characteristics. The same area can also alternatively be quiet
and
then become loud, depending if the show is on
display or not, as for example in the
Thunder Lake or Seal area. Some other
areas can remain permanently loud such as
the one around the water filters stations and the
eating area (high volume of music).
As such, analysing the effects on animals and guests
due to noises produced by the
filter stations and eating area will indicate what is
required to achieve the desired
acoustic levels. Proposal
Figure 3: Filtration system at Sea World as a source of
noise pollution.
Source:
https://www.advanced-aquariums.com/global-projects/shark-bay-sea-world/
CROWD MANAGEMENT From the site visit, it was rapidly
noticed that the access to some exhibits and
attractions have been designed as a
‘bottleneck journey’: the guests go and return
using the same way. Unlike a loop or a circuit, the
bottlenecks favor congestion and
irregular flow. Additionally, we were informed of how some
animal exhibits, such as
the penguin
enclosure, were closed during maintenance periods, thus adding
further
pressure on the other exhibits by occasionally
increasing crowd. From the initial
briefing,
it was also stated that queues at Sea World can be very long,
getting up to 2
hour waiting periods for popular rides. It is our
understanding that Sea World had
been
looking into methods for dealing with this by utilising apps and
alerts
coordinated through visitor’s
smartphones. As would be expected, many other
public enterprises have similar issues with queuing
and thus, there is much literature on the topic. Many
strategies for theme parks such
as Disney World have put resources into making the queuing
more entertaining
through costumed actors,
atmospheric effects and other activities. Others have
investigated the use of technology such as low energy Bluetooth
location services
(Mighali et al, 2015) to keep
track of queues and visitor locations. The information is
used to plan and configure the
visitor’s paths and can also be used to provide more
engagement during waiting times.
Zejda (2014) states that museums initiate ‘quests,
quizzes or staging performances’ to retain engagement. Higher
flexibility is also
described with visitors having choices
about where to spend their time. Herger et al.
(2009) propose the use of ‘interactive gaming
platforms’ to be part of the queuing
experience, which would shorten the perceived waiting time.
A more formal way of
analysing queues
is given in Queuing Theory, with Albright and Winston
analysing
queuing through its structural features
including waiting lines, servers, arrangements,
arrival patterns
and service priority (Daniels, 2017).
Some solutions Develop a crowd management strategy plan
(CMSP) : it should identify
fast corridors and slow pace areas, as well as a variety of
circuits to improve
flow
Within the CMSP, develop activities to reduce the perceived
waiting
time: for example, if a greater variety of small
scale stand-alone exhibits are
provided,
they can reduce the perceived waiting time and provide
alternative
entertainment for when certain parts of Sea
World are shutdown or queue is
long.
Advanced technology to augment the existing facilities (this
includes
holograms, virtual reality, augmented reality) can
provide interesting
alternatives, as well as raising engagement by providing
more content.
Therefore a variety of small-scale exhibits
around the themes of education,
sustainability and marine
ecology will be shown as precedents and in the proposal
section of this document.
Figure 4: Diagram showing the difference between a
traditional queue and a multi-exhibit system
10
EFFECTIVE USE OF OLDER INFRASTRUCTURE During the visit
to Sea World, it was found that there is an opportunity to reuse
older
attractions. One is the Castle, currently used as a 3D theatre (G3
on Fig. 5). The other
is the monorail (main station on P1) which was
discontinued and might be dismantled
after construction is complete for the new Atlantis
precinct. The attraction has been
closed
since October 26th, 2019 and Sea World has sought ways to repurpose
the
track. Re-using established
infrastructure in urban design has many precedents, such
as the popular New York Highline which turned a set of
railway tracks into an
elevated greenway. This issue has been raised elsewhere in
Australia, such as for the
Broadbeach
Oasis Shopping Centre’s Monorail (Larkins, 2017) and the
Sydney
monorail, which is said to be repurposed into its own
greenway which has also been
named the “High-Lane” (Holmes, 2012). The
refurbishments for this type of infrastructure consist mostly of
pathways and
planting greenery on top or below the
track. These efforts also add a layer of
historical significance, preserving a character in
the city’s story. Many cities share
the
initiative of preserving heritage structures as they hold cultural
and historical
value (Arnon, 2012). These
structures can form as chapters for the place’s overall
narrative, and provide opportunities for
people to read and learn. In other fields, existing
infrastructure can serve to adapt to the problems of climate
change by implementing flood control to
susceptible areas. Cavanagh (2014) writes
that
elevated transits are increasingly advantageous for “evacuation
routes and
[transporting] supplies for emergency response
situations”. These ideas will be
elaborated on further in the
precedent section of this report. Proposal
11
12
DIVERSITY IN ENERGY SOURCES
Natural History Museum Location: London, UK
Recording of Sir David Attenborough shown as augmented
reality exhibit. Source:
https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/techno
logy/2018/03/06/news/sky-vr-experience-w
ill-allow-users-to-tour-london-museum-with-
david-attenborough-1271832/
Conceptual design byu David Vrago for the Sydney Monorail to
be re-used as a walkway. Source:
http://missmayblossom.blogspot.com/2012/
04/post-monorail.html
The New York highline is one of the most successful examples
of reusing old infrastructure.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/arts
/design/09highline-RO.html
Figure 6: Map identifying some areas where changes could be
implemented
20
P1-REDUCING HEAT GAIN Regarding the choice between
natural vegetation for shading or artificial surfaces,
there is no noticeable difference between shading type, and they
both lead to a
mitigation in heat
stress. In this case, it is recommended to invest with an
artificial
shading for two
main factors. Firstly, the running cost would be
less. For example, less maintenance is required, no
need for irrigation and the problem of finding
spaces for the plantation is not as
difficult. Secondly, artificial shading
can be more sustainable. For instance, using photovoltaics
with a light structure can provide shading and generate
electricity, which can provide
a payback
for the structure in a few years, then it will then save a good
share of the
electricity consumption for Sea World. A
good design can also be used to help to collect the rainwater
effectively to reuse it
for irrigation or any other parts of the park.
The shading could be designed with the theme of the precinct
thus adding value in the
branding of the built environment. Therefore this, and any
new construction can be
conceived off
under stronger umbrella of the identity of Sea World.
Figure 7: Examples of conceptual designs for a covered
walkway, with rigid structure.
P2-DIVERSITY IN ENERGY SOURCES If a new multi-storey
car park is to be built, this gives the opportunity to
incorporate
alternative
energy sources into the design. The standard concrete framed
carpark can
easily be fitted with commercially
available wind turbines or solar panels without any
difficulty. Strategic placement of solar panels
can also let them double as shading devices, as
shown in Fig. 8.
Figure 8: Conceptual design for placement of wind and solar
panels on carpark building, with algae
panels on the side.
22
For the other buildings, as shown in the Precedents
section, solar tiles could be
retrofitted onto existing buildings without changing their design
or aesthetic or
layout. Of the existing buildings, it
would most likely be easiest to start with
retrofitting the administration ones which have lower
energy needs before moving
onto the structures that have
specialised equipment such as cold storage and park
rides. It is envisioned that renewable energy sources
will only supplement power due
to Sea
World’s strict need for continuous power under all
circumstances. Showcasing the energy production in
real time with interactive exhibits could make
Sea
World stand apart from other amusement parks as well as become
another point
of interaction
with young people. This therefore takes on a greater role that
simply
the energy saved, and
could be thought of as part of the marketing and identity
strategy. Kinetic
tiles, which react to traffic are another way in which does not
change the
layout or running
of the park, but also becomes a point for interaction, which
itself
has value. As with
the section on crowd management, the strategy here is to
provide
as many small
scale exhibits as possible, which when combined with crown
control
apps, become points of
entertainment for visits while queuing for rides.
Figure 9: Conceptual design for interactive recycling hub
(R) and seating made of recycled plastic (L)
P3-WASTE MANAGEMENT As seen in the Precedents section,
plastic bottles and disposable cutlery could be
replaced with edible/biodegradable counter parts with no
effective change to the
current workflow.
Recycling is currently under represented in Sea World’s
configuration with the
recycling bin placed in the
carpark. While this has the advantage of providing a
recycling node outside of park hours, an
extension to this could be the use of
interactive recycling nodes that add to the user
experience (Fig. 9). The suggestion
here
is that all of the green features to be considered as part of the
marketing
strategy/identity and reflected in the built environment. The
recycling hubs can be
combined with new
technologies such as virtual or augmented reality or
gamification.
Combined with apps and games,
these become features and help with other issues
such as queuing as there are more elements to occupy
the visitors attention. Other areas for
improvement are in the use of local materials especially
renewable
ones such as timber. Future
infrastructure should consider their use for architectural
structures and cladding. As a carbon sink, timber has
a much lower footprint that
most
structural materials and when locally sourced, the amount of energy
spent on
transportation is minimised.
Recycled plastics have found use in the production of
benches and other outdoor furnishings which could be used in
an upgrade of current
walkways
(Fig. 9). This has the flexibility to be constructed towards a
large range of
designs,
which can work with the marine theme that is part of the Sea World
identity
or the new
Atlantis precinct which has its own aesthetic. Recycled materials
can be
used for other parts of
the design such as for shading structures and exhibit stands.
A solution to the toxic run off from the car park would be
to use a porous surface that can
filter the chemicals
through the ground, or to collect the run-off to then be filtered
and
reused.
23
P4-ACOUSTIC ISSUES There are three main methods to
make spaces acoustically desirable, in order of
effectiveness: isolation, deflection and absorption. Other
methods are for optimising
aesthetics of sounds such as managing
reverberations. Due to the established nature of Sea World
areas, space isolation will not be
considered as method. Naturals applications will require a
landscape architect and
acoustic engineer to design
acoustic systems within the landscape. Natural
applications would
be out of the scope of the proposal, simply because
acoustically
engineered spaces require large
budgets and time. For the water filter stations
, sound barrier walls, noise reduction fences and
acoustic enclosures could be added. Sound barrier walls
would deflect the noise away
from guests
and provide fencing around the water filter stations. Noise
reduction
fences are for partitioning specific
parts of the site where both absorption and
deflection are needed. Acoustic enclosures can be installed
around the whole water
filter stations and
absorb the industrial noise pollution (Fig. 11).
For the ating areas , acoustic panels, feature walls and noise
reduction fences could
be added. Acoustic
panels could be placed around and above the eating areas to
reduce the echo and sound produced from
the space. A feature wall could be placed
between the eating area and the animal
enclosures (to be determined by site plan).
Noise reduction fences could placed around the
landscaping for more deflection and
absorption
if required. The combination of the proposed solutions
may be needed to achieve the desired
acoustic levels. The new/proposed acoustic report will determine
the desired
acoustics levels for the animals and Sea World
guests.
Figure 10: Example of acoustic panel that can be custom
designed for the different areas and form part
of a cohesive theme for the park.
Figure 11: Conceptual design for the enclosure of a
filtration plant.
24
Figure 13: Proposal for monorail redesign (top: bird views and
section, bottom: before/after)
26
5-CONCLUSION
Acoustics
https://acousticalsolutions.com/soundproofing-and-noise-control-information/
https://acousticalsolutions.com/product/iac-acoustics-moduline-acoustic-enclosures/
https://acousticalsolutions.com/product/iac-acoustics-noishield-sound-barrier-walls/
https://acousticalsolutions.com/block-your-backyard-noise-with-a-noise-reduction-fence/
https://www.instyle.com.au/products/acoustic-panels/ecoustic-ceiling-flats-tile/
https://www.gikacoustics.com/product-category/acoustic-panels/
Kinetic tiles
https://pavegen.com/smart-cities/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pavement-pounders-at-paris-marathon-generate-power/
https://futurism.com/energy-generating-pavement-just-became-a-reality-in-london
https://theswitch.co.uk/technology/guides/energy/energy-harvesting-tiles
https://www.ovoenergy.com/blog/technology-and-innovation/kinetic-pavements-are-giving-
Virtual and Augmented Reality Turnbull, Jessica, The
Exhibition Stand Trends You Want To Know About
https://www.theexhibitcompany.com.au/exhibition-stand-trends-2019/
Coates, Charlotte, Virtual Reality is a big trend in museums, but
what are the best examples of museums using VR?
https://www.museumnext.com/article/how-museums-are-using-virtual-reality/
Palmer, Annie, The 92-year-old Holocaust survivor set to be
immortalized as an interactive hologram
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5997017/92-year-old-Holocaust-survivor-set-live-for
ever-interactive-hologram-Ohio-museum.html Marquis, Michael,
Euclideon’s All-New Multi-User 3D Hologram Table
https://www.ireviews.com/news/2017/08/16/euclideon-3d-hologram-table
Acknowledgement of Country
Griffith University acknowledges the people who are the
Traditional
Custodians of the Land. The University pays respect to the
Elders, past
and present, and extends that respect
to other Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander
Peoples.
Report submitted 13/12/2019, main contact A/Prof. Karine Dupre at
[email protected]