Sponge City
Low Impact Development · Blue-Green Infrastructure · Stormwater Bioretention · ATES Thermal Storage · Therapeutic Landscape
This sponge city park design project in Taipei ranks among the world’s most climate-vulnerable metropolitan areas, facing compound risks of extreme precipitation, urban heat island intensification, and soil liquefaction. This resilient urban park integrates Sponge City / Low Impact Development (LID) principles with smart IoT infrastructure, Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES), phytoremediation planting, and therapeutic landscape design — shifting the site from high-risk impervious hardscape toward a high-resilience blue-green ecological corridor.
Design Framework
- Reduce biophysical pressure — flood retention via LID, carbon sequestration through multi-strata planting, renewable energy to replace fossil fuel dependency
- Reduce social pressure — disaster mitigation reducing casualty risk, natural land buffer lowering economic damage, UHI attenuation reducing vector-borne disease incidence
- Cross-sector governance — smart city, garden city, and community co-creation integrated across 5 dimensions: mobility, green energy, ecology, disaster resilience, and healthy living
Climate Vulnerability Assessment
- High Sensitivity — Population density ~30,000 persons/km² · 87.6% impervious surface coverage (built-up area) · high commercial output amplifying economic loss exposure
- High Exposure — Low-lying riparian position adjacent; site bears 21–50× the standard runoff coefficient of surrounding catchment
- Institutional Coping Capacity — Existing levee infrastructure and MRT accessibility (Dazhi Station) provide partial adaptive capacity, but absence of natural regulatory function limits climate change response
LID Stormwater Management Strategy
- Slow Runoff — Permeable asphalt and permeable concrete paving on vehicular lanes and parking bays · grass pavers on parking stalls · extensive green roof on canopy structures · vertical greening on façades
- Disperse & Infiltrate — Bioretention rain gardens and structural soil cells (tree boxes) intercept first-flush runoff · subsurface infiltration recharges groundwater and reduces peak discharge
- Retain & Recycle — Detention pond / retention basin collects overflow · harvested rainwater reused for toilet flushing, planting irrigation, and water features · excess routed to municipal stormwater drain
- Total on-site retention capacity: 1,164.25 m³ — Detention pond 600 m³ · Rain gardens 366 m³ · Grass pavers 122.5 m³ · Tree boxes 63.75 m³ · Cistern 10 m³ · Extensive green roof 2 m³
Urban Heat Island Mitigation & ATES
- Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) — Seasonal thermal exchange via plate-and-frame heat exchanger · winter: dry-cooler actively chills circulating water stored in aquifer layer for summer use · summer: stored cold released to condition public buildings (e.g., school)
- Pavement thermal performance hierarchy — Water body (UHI mitigation: very high, porosity 100%) → Vegetation (very high) → Grass paver (high) → Permeable concrete (high) → Permeable brick (medium) → Asphalt (low) → Concrete (none)
Green Energy, Carbon Sequestration & Planting Design
- Photovoltaic solar canopy — ~100 m² PV panels integrated into parking canopy · 10 kWp capacity · estimated annual output: 10 kWp × 2.5 peak sun hours × 365d × 0.7 system efficiency = 6,387.5 kWh/year · surplus powers EV charging stations
- Carbon sequestration — Arboreal layer 285 kg CO₂/year · turf / herbaceous layer 910 kg CO₂/year · total: 1,195 kg CO₂/year
- Multi-strata phytoremediation planting — Filtration layer: Juncus effusus (rush), Hydrocotyle vulgaris (pennywort) · Emergent aquatics: Typha orientalis, Canna indica · Canopy: Elaeocarpus sylvestris · Groundcover: Cynodon dactylon, Miscanthus sinensis · Extensive green roof: Sedum lineare · Vertical greening: Sansevieria trifasciata
Smart City IoT & Therapeutic Landscape
- Smart monitoring system — IoT weather station integrating soil moisture sensors, air temperature/humidity sensors, and solar-powered central controller · automated irrigation responds in real time to soil moisture thresholds · water balance controlled across stormwater, cistern, and drainage systems
- Therapeutic garden design — 5 experiential dimensions: Observation · Listening · Exploration · Walking · Rest · Aromatic healing species: Mentha spicata (headache, anxiety, fatigue), Lavandula (insomnia, depression), Rosmarinus officinalis (circulatory stimulant, muscle pain), Rosa spp. (hypertension), Zelkova serrata (circulatory support)
- Biodiversity & habitat corridor — Site supports 5 resident bird species: Zosterops japonicus, Streptopelia chinensis, Gorsachius melanolophus, Pica pica, Dendrocitta formosae · multi-strata planting structure provides foraging and nesting habitat across canopy, shrub, and emergent aquatic layers
