Two professors and two students from the School of Architecture at Syracuse University recently designed a concrete “island” that will be implemented in Colombia to help combat shoreline deterioration.

The project utilizes light concrete, allowing tiles to float on water, said Roger Hubeli, one of the professors who worked on the project. The tiles are linked together to create the island, which acts as a buffer to lessen the effects of flooding and erosion.

The concrete islands also incubate mangrove trees that will be able to reproduce and become permanently positioned along the coast, Hubeli said. The mangrove forest that develops will form a natural barrier that will further protect the shore from floods and erosion.

The concrete islands aim to revitalize the Colombian shoreline with these mangroves, which have been deteriorated by urbanization, said Julie Larsen, the second professor who helped with the design.

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A prototype has already been tested in Colombia and, although successful, contained flaws that need tweaking, Hubeli said. There are plans now underway to implement the project on a larger scale.

The innovative concrete technology, offered by Cemex Research Group in Switzerland, allowed the team of architects to experiment and craft original ideas, like the concrete island, Hubeli said.

“(We) utilize each other’s strengths to create something special,” Hubeli said.

Their partnership with CRG began in 2014, when SU professors and students took a trip to Europe, Hubeli said. CRG found common interests with the professors when they visited the facility.

The relationship with CRG continued to develop when students and professors returned to Syracuse and became engaged in projects with CRG and their innovative materials, Hubeli said.

Larsen said it was not until May 2016 when Davide Zampini, head of the research group at CRG, asked Hubeli and Larsen to make designs for the concrete island. The naval academy in Colombia was in contact with CRG and became interested in the proposal, Hubeli said.

The professors said they had to temporarily put aside another project with CRG to dedicate their time to this new endeavor. Two SU students, Nusrat Mim and Matt Dinsmore, also worked on the concrete island project.

Mim, a graduate student in the School of Architecture, said she researched for the specific mangrove tree that would be harbored in the concrete tile. Mim whittled down the options of thousands of mangroves to find the perfect tree that would thrive in Colombia.

Matt Dinsmore, now in his last year of the architecture school’s five-year undergraduate program, helped with the design. He said he got the opportunity to go to the CRG in Switzerland to help construct the first full-scale prototype. He was pleased to see his work be constructed full scale, a luxury he said he doesn’t often experience when working in a college atmosphere.

Hubeli said the prototype was presented by Davide Zampini at the end of September, during an academic conference on concrete.

Larsen said CRG has allowed her and Hubeli to be creative and experiment with innovative technology.

The ability to be innovative is exciting, but demanding, Larsen said.

“You have to be OK with making a mistake or two … that will produce something no one has seen before,” Larsen said.

Aside from the project’s future in Colombia, Hubeli and Larsen said they have recently been contacted by marinas around the United States that are interested in the project’s ability to protect shorelines.

Published on October 11, 2016 at 11:31 pm