Novel Aquatic Habitats starting to take shape

It’s exciting to see the prototypes for the Novel Aquatic Habitats project by Shane Hunt from Hapterra Design starting to take shape ahead of the installation at Lorimer Beach in the coming weeks.

Supported by a grant from FB IDEAs, this project is prototyping and testing novel ways to reimagine how we interact and value aquatic biodiversity in highly urbanised and degraded natural areas, such as the lower Birrarung (Yarra River) in Fisherman’s Bend.

Shane has designed a series of habitats that will be deployed across the intertidal zone to support biodiversity found across the site. Targeting existing oyster and mussel communities, each habitat includes specific substrate textures and forms that aim to support natural recruitment of the species during their deployment.

Designed for small scale deployment, the fabrication process has been an iterative process driven by site specific contexts and the species of interest.  Fabrication of the habitats has included multiple iterations at various scales from 3D printing to CNC machining where the final moulding process has included the development of silicone jackets in which the final modules are constructed out of concrete. 

This project is supported by the Port of Melbourne and will include ongoing monitoring and data collection as part of a PhD research project to inform the potential of targeted design interventions to support ecological function within urban waterways.

Stay tuned for more updates, including opportunities to take part in a site tour to be announced very soon!