Part of the Low Impact Development (LID) Design Competition North Central Texas. SRA entry wins in the Urban Infill Category
The Texas Land & Water Sustainability Forum recently held a design competition for Low Impact Development (LID) in North Central Texas. SRA submitted an entry for the Urban Infill category which focused on the redevelopment of two city blocks around the George Hawke Central Library in Downtown Arlington. The intent of the competition was to educate city leaders and local developers about LID strategies that reduce and clean storm water runoff while decreasing construction costs over traditional design approaches. SRA’s design included: (1) Managing storm water through a series of sunken lawns, rain planters, dry stream beds and rain gardens (instead of underground pipe systems) to serve as site amenities while reducing total suspended solids (TSS) and reducing peak discharge rates; (2) Designing the earth to function as a “green sponge” by increasing the absorption capacity of the native clay soils by re-introducing organic matter back into the soil, which allows water to be stored in the soil and later utilized by vegetation. (3) Replacing impervious surfaces with pervious ones to increase infiltration and reduce the peak discharge rate; (4) Utilizing smart irrigation technologies paired with native / adapted plant selection to reduce irrigation demand; (5) Harvesting rainwater and building condensate in a series of bladders within the void of the existing Library basement to irrigate the site, supply interactive fountains and flush toilets in the public restrooms.
The SRA submittal was selected as the winner of this category.
