2.1.2 Site visits – Field observations
Figure 30. Excerpts from the field studies of Master students from Aalborg University of Vejle’s waterfront (called Lystbadehavn) and Fjordbyen area. These learnings have contributed to the site analysis for Vejle.
(Left image) Master student’s mapping of all the key areas, businesses and buildings in Fjordbyen. Image credit: Sørensen et al. (2017). (Right image) Master student’s mapping of all the key functions and atmosphere of Fjordbyen area. Image credit: Sørensen et al. (2017).
(Extracted from Kumu Multiscalar map – Fjordbyen scale node).
Furthermore, particular attention was paid to look out for the visible presence of seaweeds throughout the hard edge conditions of the publicly accessible waterfront area in Vejle (see Figure 31 below). The field observation of seaweed found in the nearby waters of Fjordbyen area corresponded with the research by Lundsteen and Nielsen (2019a, 2019b) and Naturbasen.dk on the different types of seaweed found in Vejle Fjord. The information gathered on the possible seaweeds available in Vejle (both inner and outer) was important in figuring out the design parameters of spatial interventions to include marine life like the design brief of Kanten/The Edge competition - i.e. the water depth required to attract a certain type of seaweed that can grow in a particular area and whether it would be visible to the human eye.
Figure 31. (First row of image) Location of areas in the accessible part of Vejle’s waterfront where I took photos of the most visible form of seaweed – blæretang/bladderwrack growing on the hard surfaces throughout various times of the year during site visits (regardless, it is difficult to capture the seaweed underwater via photographs). Background image credit: Vejle Municipality (n.d.) and Pine Cone Project (n.d.).
(Middle row of images) Excerpts from the two books called “Danmarks Havalger” by researchers Lundsteen and Nielsen (2019a, 2019b), where there are maps of all the different macroalgae types that grow in Vejle Fjord along with details for their main characteristics and conditions for growth. The information from this book is translated into the excel table in Appendix 13.
(Bottom row image) Similar databases (not as extensive as Lundsteen and Nielsen) on different seaweed locations and basic facts in Denmark. Image credit: Screenshot of the Naturbasen website (Naturbasen, 2022).
The comprehensive book on macroalgae in Denmark by Lundsteen and Nielsen (2019a, 2019b) outlines the different types of seaweed found in the Vejle Fjord (Figure 31). The findings of different characteristics of seaweed found in Vejle Fjord are compiled into an excel table with reworkings of the location map with photos (see Figure 32 and Appendix 13). This excel table is further converted into a map to be embedded into the research-through-design mapping in Figure 148 in section 4.1.3. The intention was to understand which type of seaweed could qualify as marine nature-based solutions that could be integrated into Vejle’s waterfront/harbourfront (and beyond).
Figure 32. A sample of the extensive excel sheet was created for all the living red, brown and green macroalgae in the inner (and outer) Vejle Fjord. The table indicates the scientific name, the common name (both English and Danish), average size, typical water depth, colour, invasive or local specie, etc. (See Appendix 13) based on learnings from Lundsteen and Nielsen (2019a, 2019b), Naturbasen (n.d.) and MarLIN (n.d.). This information is re-appropriated into a map that is embedded back into the master Kumu map 1 – multiscalar analysis (see section 4.1.3, Figure 148).
[83] The site visits were not limited to Vejle but also other relevant coastal cities in Denmark (i.e. Middelfart, Juelsminde and Randers) due to the activities associated with the Realdania research network group.
[84] Permission has been attained from the former students of the report to use their works for this research.
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Several site visits[83] to Vejle as the main case study site and other relevant places (the waterfront and harbourfront area in Fjordbyen) were undertaken throughout the research. Site photos, videos, drone shots and notes were taken as part of field observations (via walking) on 27/01/20, 29/07/20, 05/10/20, 11/09/21 and 06/06/22. Site visits also entailed a guided tour with coastal protection experts from Vejle Municipality on 14-15th December 2021 (for detailed notes, see Table 16 in Appendix 12). These materials and notes from the site visit supported the detailed site analysis conducted in Part IV.
Furthermore, the project drew insights from the work of master students from AU, who produced further investigations [84] of Vejle Fjordbyen and the Lystbadehavn area (the waterfront area of Vejle), where were used as a supplement to the site analysis (some examples of the work are shown in Figure 30 below and Figure 1444.1.2). The site analysis by these students (Falk Pedersen et al., 2017; Sørensen et al., 2017) includes mapping work that refers to data from GIS (see Appendix 1,
Table 5 on GIS sources) and the mapping of the main impressions, functions and atmospheres of Fjordbyen area. Some of these findings were incorporated into the site analysis of Vejle in Part IV.