Industrial - Bachelor
Coral Framework is a solution that intends to bring a degree of standardisation to the field of reef restoration. As conditions become worse for our coral reefs it is more important than ever to scale up reef restoration and coral production and replanting efforts, and the coral framework enables this by providing an versatile, customisable solution for coral racking in mid-water nurseries.
Qualitative research was conducted to gain a better understanding of reef restoration through primary sources. Interviews were conducted and surveys sent out to individuals and organisations involved in reef restoration around Australia and the globe. Respondees include marine scientists and conservationists from North Queensland, Western Australia, French Polynesia, Saudi Arabia, Florida, Hawaii and the Caribbean and in the end four semi structured interviews were conducted and 15 survey responses were collected.
Having a nursery on land is a much bigger commitment in terms of time and cost and infrastructure. So I guess we were looking for the best possible outcomes for the minimum resources that we had.
marine scientest Based in townsville
It points to the site specific nature of coral restoration you know, there are standardized approaches but they need to be – I guess adapted for different locations.
marine scientest based in saudi arabia
That’s what we need to do is accelerate the process of recovery because the frequency of disturbance events is increasing. So that period of recovery, the window gets shorter.
marine scientest based in Cairns
To analyse the interviews and survey responses thematic coding was used to identify important concepts and ideas, and how they were linked. Through this research a variety of themes were uncovered that guided the the development of the final solution.
Citizen science was mentioned various times as a potential means to supplement the limited funding and labour available to many smaller or community based restoration groups. In addition to this, promoting citizen science increases public engagement in restoration and conservation.
There were mixed opinions on using autonomous vehicles and other emerging technologies for restoration. While many agreed that it should be explored as a means to scale up restoration, the prohibitive cost and technical expertise required to operate such solutions would make them unviable for many organisations.
Collaboration between organisations was viewed as being impeded because of monetary incentives, competitiveness and in some cases governement regulations and legislation.
Standardised practices, reporting and success criteria are all lacking in the current reef restoration landscape leading to a lack of efficiency
Based on the research the design opportunity identified was in creating standardised equipment that is an iteration on current reef restoration methodologies. The primary target for this was mid-water nurseries. These are a key component of the ‘coral gardening’ method of reef restoration, where juvenile corals or coral fragments are grown on floating structures in the sea until they reach a viable size for replanting. Mid-water nurseries require less investment and labour to set up and operate compared to shore-based facilities and thus are popular with smaller restoration organisations. Despite their popularity there are limited products in this category available for purchase and therefore many nurseries are custom built from whatever materials are available.
Following the research and problem identification phases, design development commenced with extensive sketching of ideas, iteration and modelmaking to develop the concept. This culminated in a 50% scale model of the design being produced.
The coral framework is a racking solution for mid-water nurseries that is versatile enough and adjustable enough to be able to fulfil the needs of different reef restoration organisations existing infrastructure while remaining cross-compatible to allow efficient transport of coral and easier collaboration between organisations using the Coral Framework. The design consists of four angles with slots and pegs that make for simple but robust connection, and allow the frame to be resized from 100 x 60cm to 130 x 80cm increasing area by approximately 70%. This allows the racks to be sized based on coral volume needed, or space available in existing nursery structures. The rack comes with a mounting frame that it clips into, which can be screwed or bolted onto surfaces allowing maximum flexibility for the user to decide where it is used. This again serves the purpose of allowing the Coral framework to be integrated into existing infrastructure.
Attaching corals to the frame would be achieved through the holes on the inner edge, or the inset edge of the frame. Monofilament line or rope would be threaded through the holes with corals entwined or otherwise attached in a traditional coral gardening method. Otherwise mesh panels or ceramic plates could be placed in the inset edge, with the them being placed in before the interlocking frame is slid closed and locked in place.
The manufacturing and materials of the coral framework have been selected to maintain its affordability, which is a critical part of its design as it is catering to smaller reef restoration organisations with limited funds.
It is made of marine grade polycarbonate, as this thermoplastic has high impact strength and it is corrosion and UV resistant, both important for the harsh environment of the ocean. This would be used with an injection moulding manufacturing process which has a high upfront tooling cost but is necessary for the high production volumes envisaged as part of the scaling up of restoration activities around the world. Features such as the wedged shaped locks and locking tabs have been designed without overhangs to ensure manufacturability with this process. Additional features like the attachment holes on the inner edge would be laser cut as these would not be possible in the injection moulding stage.
The finish of the product is an ammonium based marine paint. This is a product that does not yet exist but is based on research into algae repellent treatments that kill on contact rather than by leaching ammonium compounds into the environment. This finish reduces algal growth on nurseries, thus reducing the cleaning workload.
Stephen is a multi-faceted designer with a background in engineering and the arts, focused on intuitive, practical design solutions to improve the world. With this blend skills he has had the opportunity to work overseas creating solutions in real world contexts, furthering his design practice and inspiring him to continue to innovate, create, and solve problems.