My part in the Green Pier project was to design the piers. For the piers, I have come up with 4 different alternate solutions. Overall, the piers had to meet many specifications. They had to be useful and work well. They have to be usable and appeal to visitors who will be using the piers for different purposes- such as fishing- both professionally and recreationally, and viewing the water. The piers must be desirable and appealing to whoever may be visiting. With all these factors in mind, I proceeded to create a design matrix to and a list of design expectations to decide which solution was the most viable solution for the project. The solution that got the most points was alternate solution 2, so I decided to go with that choice.
Alternate solution 1 consisted of two piers extending off the sides of a promenade. The west pier was 50 feet, and the east pier was 100 feet. The east pier would be solely used for fishermen, and would provide a good amount of room for them to fish. The west pier was made to be specifically for visitors and recreational fishing. The design left plenty of room for visitors, but not as much room for more professional fishermen who need ample amounts of space. Overall, this solution was okay, but not the most viable solution for the pier structure.
Alternate solution 2 consisted of two piers extending off a promenade as well. The west pier was also 50 feet, but the east pier was 200 feet. With 200 feet available, more fishermen could fish, and it provides them with a lot more room to spread out. Again, the west pier was made specifically for visitors and fishermen. This design would be more expensive to build, but it would fit double the amount of professional fisherman as solution 1 and it really has the most to offer space wise.
Alternate solution 3 consisted of one pier extending out the center of a promenade. The pier was 200 feet long. The pier would fit 8 boats. This pier would be easier to construct and more cost effective than alternate solutions 1 and 2. However, it left very little room for fishermen and visitors, so it probably wouldn’t go over very well among professional fishermen who prefer their space and solitude.
Alternate solution 4 consisted of one pier extending out the center of the promenade as well. This pier would be 100 feet long. The pier would fit half the amount of fishermen as aternate solution 3. This pier would be much cheaper to build than all of the other solutions. However, it has the least amount of space for really anything. It has the least amount of space for tourists, fishermen, and visitors. This solution was the least viable solution.
I also had to consider materials to use for the final solution. The matierals had to be eco-friendly, safe, sustainable, aesthetically pleasing, and efficient. The materials that were considered were American Plastic Lumber, Connect-A-Dock, and Trex Deck.
American Plastic Lumber is made of recycled plastic. It is used for boardwalks and docks. They also create railings. It comes in a variety of colors and looks very nice when all set up. It is safe and eco-friendly, but for the design chosen for the dock structure, it is not sustainable. The docks usually are not built to extend a full 200 feet into the water. They are more useful for docking boats than for fishing or tourist visits.
Connect-A-Dock is made of hollow polyethylene pieces that connect together to form a dock. It is eco-friendly and contains no polystyrene beads. Connect-A-Dock is safe and does provide railings, and the polyethylene build makes it even more comfortable to walk on. They can be extended to any width or length, making it even easier to readjust for any use. It is very simple to install. However, it does not look natural at all, and it’s a floating dock. Floating docks are less permanent and thus less efficient, because we’re looking for a material to use to build a permanent pile dock.
Trex Deck is made of recycled materials that pose no threat or harm to marine life and is safe for the environment. It has been used in building docks and marinas before. There are railings available, so the product is safe. It can be built as a permanent dock. It is absolutely beautiful to look at and includes a variety of colors available to use. Trex Deck also got in contact with the group and went into further detail about how Trex is very efficient for building a pier. (http://green-pier-dock-project.blogspot.com/2011/10/research-on-trex-deck.html) This was the best choice for the material of the piers.
