Visualising Biodiversity

Convergence as a very broad and generic term is suitable for interdisciplinary education, because it describes a phenomenon not bound to a specific discipline and is also  the underlying concept of interdisciplinary work. The course "Geo Visuals" was provided by the specialisation Scientific Visualisation. Because I teamed up with a Game Design student, together with Visual Communication and Interaction Design / Game Design, three disciplines converged. The project "BiodiverCity" that we chose also showed convergence of different competencies from the fields of social science and ecology. Thus there is a link between art and science, combining engineering and aesthetics. The result is a synergy that stands out through its balance of differences and effective technical problem solving. Through the work across different programmes of study, we benefited from an active discourse as well as different approaches and technical skills.



The objective of the course "GeoVisuals" was the work with different forms of landscape visualisation. Modification and development of landscape models was encouraged as well as the play with illustrative elements within visualisations based on scientific data. Starting points were for example scenarios of landscape and spacial design, environmental planning, reconstruction or basically all visualisations that provide structural and navigational information in a spacial environment. Important was the combination of different media (e.g. digital & analogue, sound & image or 2D & 3D). To encourage the convergence of competencies, short introductory workshops in various techniques were offered:

• Storyboarding


• Input Second Life


• GoogleEarth / 3D-Design with SketchUp


• Illustration techniques


• Video editing / AfterEffects

The process was presented to the group in two interim presentations. Expected result of the course was a series of designs, explaining the appearance and function of the landscape visualisations in the form of short video sequences.




© Fabio Bontadina / biodivercity.ch

Our project: "BiodiverCity". More and more people live in an urban environment and in metropolitan areas.  However, now cities feature a surprising amount of nature, from local and imported plants to  cultivation close to nature in residential areas and parks. Hence it is becoming more and more important to understand the social and cultural connections between notions of biodiversity and quality of life in urban areas – not least with consideration towards a sustainable development of urban residential areas. The project BiodiverCity seeks to understand the links between urban biodiversity, the built environment and the perception through residents. The results will be used to develop methods to raise awareness for biodiversity in residential areas and improve residents’ acceptance of it. In an attempt to determine the biodiversity and the influencing factors, the numbers of different species of birds, bats, insects and spiders respectively were counted in the cities Lugano, Lucern and Zurich. For that, 32 measuring spots were defined in each of the three cities. The result shows that all three of them show a surprisingly large biodiversity. Several species had never been seen in Switzerland before. The appearance of green space is a determining factor for biodiversity. A representative survey in Switzerland shows that particularly people living in urban areas give special value to green spaces as these form a contrast to the built environment. Green spaces with a variety of structures that look close to nature yet well-kept were favoured by residents. The challenge for us in the scope of this course was the application of design under two aspects. On the one hand, the survey results were to be visualised, on the other hand we were to raise awareness for biodiversity and make biodiversity-friendly urban landscapes more attractive to residents.

© Roland Hausheer, Illustrator, Hochschule Luzern Design und Kunst / biodivercity.ch

The material that we started to work with consisted of various photographs of the spots where the data was collected as well as computer generated Imagesy showing prototypical green spaces which had been used for the survey. Later we got access to the recent research results as well as a concise list of species with the appropriate statistical data.



In the first brainstorming, we noticed that the co-existence of humans and animals could be an interesting aspect. We could visualise the environment in a way that allows us to make processes and activities visible. Changing the roles of humans and animals could help to raise awareness by showing what an insect’s view of the world and of humans looks like. Showing that the insects’ «living spaces» are directly influenced by how humans keep their green space could make clear to the population that they are responsible for them. Perhaps changing the viewpoint to the eye level of a beetle could show how insects actually feel at home. Interesting for us was the idea of diving into the lawn in front of one’s home.

1-2: © Tele Atlas / Google, 2009; 3: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1341319181068749389ENwwU

An idea was to use the possibilities of GoogleEarth® und its 360° spheric panoramic images to "dive" into urban green spaces and be encouraged to discover a new world. Another idea was to create various information graphics and visualisations for exhibitions in the residential areas or for online and print media (e.g. books, brochures, posters, etc.).



We presented the results of our initial idea generation process to the  person in charge of the ecological part of the research, Dr. Fabio Bontadina (zoological institute, University of Berne). Dr. Bontadina explained the project in more detail and made clear that communicating the new findings in a new, interesting and innovative way was their main aim. The previously mentioned aspect of the symbiosis of humans and animals was not a new phenomenon. It has been described under the term «urban ecology» for the last 50 years. A new approach is putting the notion of biodiversity into the centre of attention. Biodiversity is currently described as being synonymous to wealth, regeneration, experience and life. Dr. Bontadina suggests to look specifically at at some chosen results and keep the main aims in mind. A starting point could be the visualisations of a prototypical urban green space that had been used for the survey. We could develop them further in a way that allows us to make as many aspects and results as possible visible and comprehensible.

We took the statistic data of the survey, which was given to us in a 12 page document, and presented it in a visual concept. Through bar graphs we visualised the quantitative information and made its dimensions comprehensible. Starting with the bar charts, we noticed the similarity with installations that have been used to communicate and visualise data in public spaces. This inspired us to choose this medium for our own visualisation.





The planet trail on the  Üetliberg (Zürich), designed by Arnold von Rotz, is such an example for an installation that communicates abstract information in a public space. Other examples are Edward Tufte´s Escaping Flatland or Bird Series.







At first we created some sketches for a 3-dimensional installation which was to represent the survey data in the space where it was collected. This way, the data which was collected through the BiodiverCity project could be made accessible and understandable to the public.






Hardau Türme: © Stadt Zürich / www.stadt-zurich.ch

The installation combines symbolically the living spaces of humans and animals to highlight the aspect of a symbiosis and mutual habitat.

The objects, which represent the different the collected data through their variation in size are made of wood and sealed with weatherproof and environmentally friendly varnishing. The front contains pictograms corresponding to the species (cf. page 29), the back contains a list of the species found in a comparable habitat. The natural looking wooden core stabilises the object and lends a natural aesthetic. Different shapes and colours were used to represent the appropriate data collected for birds, insects, spiders and bats.

The installations were to be complemented with an information panel which informs about the collected data and the BiodiverCity project. A prototypical landscape visualisation was created which combines all the landscapes that were originally included in the survey. This allows us to display the results in a way that is clear, interesting and aesthetically pleasing.





The idea was presented to the year group with a one minute video clip at the end of the module. The interim presentation and a rough concept was given to our contact person at the BiodiverCity project, Dr. Fabio Bontadina and received positive feedback throughout. The final result as well as the project documentation were sent to the project supervisor and are going to be suggested to the organisers of the biodiversity year 2010 in Zurich. We can imagine to engage in future collaboration with the BiodiverCity project and wish to thank them for supporting our work within this module.

And in case you're wondering what a "module file" looks like here, feel free to download the documentation or flick through it online.