Intelligent Landscapes: Application of Parametric Modeling for a New Generation of Flood Risk Management Reservoirs in Sao Paulo City, Brazil

A retention facility is presented as a prototype evaluated not only for its volume capacity but also for its performance as a water landscape and a Stormwater Best Management Practice. Computer aided parametric modeling, using CAD software Rhinoceros (c) and its algorithmic modeling plugin, Grasshopper, offered new ways of investigating performance combined with design. This functionality allowed a greater freedom of design, which returns to the water landscapes of the anastomosed rivers, adapted to the dynamics of the different water flows, slowness and phytoremediation. This experiment has demonstrated the capacity of the parametric model to calculate the retention volume, as well as to represent the new 3D morphology, reaching a prospective language for landscape architecture in balance with hydraulic engineering requirements.