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The sub-surface, with its man-made and natural components, plays an important, if not crucial, role in the urban climate and global energy transition. On the one hand, the sub-surface is associated with a variety of challenges such as subsidence, pollution, damage to infrastructure and shortages of space for new urban systems. On the other hand, the sub-surface presents opportunities in terms of solutions for flooding, reduction in heat stress, and decentralized energy systems. Therefore, it is necessary to place sub-surface issues in their appropriate perspective, to enable a more resilient design that brings together ecosystem services, climate and urban systems, and which takes full account of the dynamics of the subsoil. To achieve this, the sub-surface must be an integral part of above ground planning and design. Organization of the sub-surface needs to be reflected visually in relation to - consideration of (surface) spatial morphology. The objective of this paper is to question the role of architectural representation of the subsurface. Discussion of architectural representation should include ‘design thinking’. An important element of design thinking is the concepts that are used to guide the design process. For this reason, this research tests the role of visualization in relation to a case from the Dutch context and more specifically to subsidence. The approach is built on a systematic processing of contextual information of the site under development, using the System Exploration Environment, Subsurface and results in a Technical Profile. Using input from subsurface specialists to rethink the urban landscape results in realisation of synergies between subsurface elements and the (re)design of vital urban infrastructure.

A software platform was developed to facilitate the development of 3D geological models of sedimentary media for hydrogeological modelling, especially for urban environments. It is composed by a geospatial database and a set of tools that enable the user to perform an accurate stratigraphic analysis. The geospatial database is used for the management of a large amount of different data types coming from different sources (geophysical logs, borehole logs, hydraulic tests, etc.). Its structure allows us to store accurate and very detailed geological borehole-log description that can be straightforwardly generalized and further upscaled. The set of stratigraphic analysis instruments, working within a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment, has been set up to facilitate the geological data interpretation. Detailed stratigraphic columns of the selected boreholes can be generated using customized queries. Creating automatically a geological profile is further possible by displaying the boreholes lithological columns and the geophysical and geotechnical field-tests' results together with the defined stratigraphic units. Based on an interactive analysis environment is created, where the user is able to analyze and to define the possible existing correlation surfaces, units, and faults. The obtained information represented by the geological units/subunits can be then converted within a 3D environment. The resulted 3D features could be used within the same GIS environment or by external software packages for further stochastic analysis or to build up 3D geological and hydrogeological models. Starting from an accurate and very detailed geological description, the software allows us to represent in three dimensions (3D) the heterogeneity of the sedimentary media and their spatial distribution. Thus, it shows how connectivity implemented into hydrogeological models among the different sedimentary bodies plays an important role. Results are shown consisting in a case s, Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Disseny i creació d'una base de dades per a visualitzar i gestionar dades geològiques. Aplicació d'aquesta per a la interpretació del subsòl del Delta del Besòs.

Históricamente, los alrededores del delta del río Besòs sufrían problemas a causa del alto nivel piezométrico, pues durante la industrialización de la zona se van a extraer grandes caudales de agua de sus acuíferos y una vez estos caudales se han dejado de extraer, los niveles piezométricos han aumentado para alcanzar valores próximos a su cota antigua natural. Gracias a que ya existe una base de datos que contiene la información existente hasta la fecha del delta del río Besòs, y que permite añadir los datos que se generan con las perforaciones de los nuevos proyectos que se están llevando a cabo en la zona, es posible construir un modelo geológico tridimensional, para facilitar el conocimiento de las zonas del delta menos estudiadas. Para integrar la interpretación geológica en el modelo tridimensional se han desarrollado un conjunto de herramientas sobre la plataforma ArcGIS. Estas herramientas permiten plasmar en un plano bidimensional la interpretación del geólogo y llevarla al espacio tridimensional para la construcción del modelo 3D.