Colored Water

Abstract

As one of the most important ecosystems on the planet, the coastal zone accommodates a denser population than the hinterland and faces faster urbanization and higher population growth. Meanwhile, the coastal zone is exposed to several climate change disasters in the context of a sensitive environment dominated by water. It is considered with limited resources and capacities to respond to stress, thus the coastal zone is also one of the most vulnerable ecosystems. This master thesis in Landscape Architecture focuses on the Northern Java island, specifically Pekalongan city, Indonesia. The local see a dilemma between natural resources and batik development, for this dominant industry is highly reliant on water. Pekalongan people actively fight against natural disasters and try to boom the cultural significance. But, without understanding the natural process and resilience thinking, the interventions are slightly ineffective, and even could be counterproductive from a long-term perspective. Therefore the objective of the thesis is to create a resilient landscape framework to facilitate water safety and batik development in Pekalongan city by focusing on the three dominant water-related design assignments, known as water circulation, discharge capacity, and coastal protection. Moreover, the project aims to consolidate and enhance the cultural significance of batik and raise awareness of landscape potentials. Under the resilient landscape theoretical framework, with the guidance of landscape- based solutions, the project seeks to build a new relationship between people and nature to mitigate the threats of climate change disasters and batik development from a long term and sustainable perspective. Design research and research by design provide the methods to conduct the investigations. The design work is conducted in three different scales, proposing strategies on a regional scale; detailed elaboration on selected sites; infrastructure design. Besides, a toolbox is also included to provide inspirations and glues for coastal zones which face similar threats and dilemmas as Pekalongan city.