Abstract
The technical portion of this project is the I.D.E.A. Factory Design Builder Request for Proposal. The Innovate, Design, and Engineer for America (I.D.E.A.) Factory is a 61,000 square foot building with four levels above grade and one below grade proposed to be built at the University of Maryland in College Park. I worked on this technical project with three other students, with our primary objective being to develop a response to the University of Maryland’s Request for Proposal (RFP) to design and construct the new engineering building. We must create a plan to address the site’s environmental and structural constraints while meeting aesthetic and functional goals. There are challenges at the project site that must be addressed before building can begin, including high groundwater, structural material decisions, and plaza integration. The RFP includes three phases: design, construction, and price. The design phase includes the design of the foundation system, building structure, plaza, and groundwater subsurface. The construction phase includes the project schedule and site logistics plan. The price aspect includes budgeting and cost estimation. My primary responsibility was the design of the plaza landscape, including stormwater analysis and management, erosion and sediment control, and site planning. In addition, I developed the landscape and stormwater portion of the cost estimate.
The STS portion of this project is the Role of Policy in Permeable Pavement Adoption in U.S. Cities research paper. This individual research paper revolves around studying the following research question: “How do local policy decisions shape the adoption of permeable pavement in United States cities?” The primary goal of this study is to encourage even and successful implementation of permeable pavement, a stormwater management technology, across United States cities. This would result in various areas having more equal and sufficient action against both flooding and pollutants in stormwater runoff. I begin the paper by using Hurricane Ida as a storm event example and introducing permeable pavement as a stormwater infrastructure technology. My methods to research the question include history and public policy as I draw on policy documents, municipal design standards, federal and state guidance, peer-reviewed literature, and comparative case studies of United States cities. I use the Actor-Network Theory as an analytical framework to examine how relationships among human and non-human actors collectively shape infrastructure decisions. My argument is that the adoption of permeable pavement is shaped by sociotechnical networks of local policy, standards, incentives, and institutional actors. My research highlights the importance of local governance in shaping infrastructure and aids in understanding how decisions at the municipal level directly impact public safety and climate resilience.
Both the technical and STS portions of this project involve green infrastructure. While permeable pavement isn’t specifically implemented in my technical portion, there is the proposal of green stormwater infrastructure like bioretention facilities. Regardless of the specified green infrastructure technology, it’s important to understand how to successfully adopt these technologies in a wide spread of locations to improve efforts in mitigating stormwater disasters. This is especially true for locations where stormwater management isn’t as strong. The STS portion of my project helps to understand this from a policy perspective. A key aspect in green infrastructure implementation is in construction projects such as the I.D.E.A. Factory building. Findings from the STS project on permeable pavement policies will inform the real-world design and decision-making aspects of construction projects, like my technical project. Together, the projects show how both technical decisions and policy play a prominent role in creating more resilient communities.
