Eroding Terrains: Developing Computational Design Tools for Interactive Site Erosion

Landscape erosion processes can be problematic and are universal in their effect on all forms of landscape contexts and conditions. Hydrological erosion processes are important features of ecologies, yet are often extremely problematic, and can be exacerbated by climate extremes, weather events, animal and human activities, and especially transformations through agricultural processes. This research documents and proposes computational design tools and methods for erosion simulation in realworld scenarios. While there are many examples of soil erosion modelling in the life sciences and engineering fields, they are rarely applied at the detailed scale of the landscape-, architecture-and design disciplines. The work attempts to leverage erosion processes for design by creating new workflows inside familiar design and modelling programs. Applications may vary between agricultural land and areas of accelerated climate change, however, the test case for this application is in a fire-affected landscape particularly prone to erosion. This research seeks to unite site investigation and survey techniques with interactive erosion modelling within AEC design software. By introducing intuitive ways to model erosion processes mitigation becomes possible within the landscape analysis and design process, creating opportunities to avoid erosion before it occurs.