Eco-boulevard in Vallecas “Air tree - social dynamizer”
By Ecosistema Urbano
Judit Lastres Aguilera Irene de Miguel López INTRODUCTION The Eco-boulevard in Vallecas is an urban recycling operation consisting of the following actions: insertion of an air tree-social dynamizer over an existing urbanization area, densification of existing aligned trees and reduction and asymmetric arrangement of wheeled traffic circulation. There are two main objectives: to generate activity and the bioclimatic adaptation of an outdoor space, achieved with a system of passive air conditioning based on chilling by evapotranspiration that generates the optimal conditions to clean the air and encourage the creation of woodlands. This system, commonly used in the greenhouse industry, is capable of lowering temperature by around 10º C, depending on humidity conditions and temperature. The system goes into action when a temperature sensor detects temperatures above 27ºC in its surroundings. It is particularly efficient with high temperatures and low relative humidity. The three Air Trees are temporary objects of an exportable nature, so they may be re-installed in similar locations or in other types of situations requiring an urban activity or reactivation. KEY WORDS -Urban recycling -Air cleaning -Bio climatic adaptation -Public spaces -Tree concept -”Emergency” action -Temporary prosthesis -Self sufficient -Woodland generator
Judit Lastres Aguilera Irene de Miguel López CONTEXT Demography The project is located in Madrid in the peripheral housing development of the neighbourhood of Vallecas. The location had a urban heartbreaking and desertic landscape. It appeared when the government made a call to generate ideas for the main boulevard of the place, becoming the beginning of the constructions for the development of a new suburb in Madrid. They are going to build 29.000 houses as an extension of the neighbourhood of Vallecas. The project has a typical planification in all his development except in the Northeast end where the local government decide to innovate considering sustainability applied to the buildings as well as the quality of public spaces.This project is called “Eco-Valley”. This planification consist in finishing first the traffic roads and public spaces before starting the buildings. Therefore we are in a boulevard commonly design as a “urban macro development”. A place with a lack of character where the private cars have priority over pedestrians. Implicated population The project involves the inhabitants of the Vallecas neighbourhood, that will live in the new homes surrounding the Eco Boulevard. They will be able to enjoy the facilities and quality extra spaces that the Air Trees provide more than anyone. Besides, it is a welcoming space for visitors. Madrid authorities were implicated in the promotion of the project as well, offering a new alternative for sustainable public spaces that could be also applied in other locations with the same climate.
Judit Lastres Aguilera Irene de Miguel López Issues The new public space of the neighbourhood was bad planned consequently the project was thought to compensate both the lack of activity in the public space and the need of dense woods. But this vegetation will not grow until fifteen or twenty years after planted and that will happen just if the conditions of temperature and humidity are the correct ones.
The intervention must be urgent, the project will work as a forest would do, cleaning the air, creating an atmosphere that promotes activity in urban public space and controlling temperature and humidity, fact which will encourage and favour to grow new vegetation faster. Agents involved
The Suburban Development of Vallecas was characterise for all the very poor elements of the typical suburban developments. Therefore, the government organized the Eco-boulevard competition with two objectives, as the agents involved, one of a social nature to generate activity, for the human agents, and one of an environmental nature with the bioclimatic adaptation of an outdoor space, for the non-humans as the proper vegetation and also the animals who live in it and are fed with it.
Judit Lastres Aguilera Irene de Miguel López CHRONOLOGY Historiography The Vallecas Eco Boulevard emerged from the need to improve the area, conditioning the open spaces to improve the quality of its urban scene by reaching more complexity, urban diversity, accessibility and interaction with the surroundings. Those improvements wouldn’t be possible without the reduction of traffic to control the previous noisy environment; a measure that creates a pedestrian boulevard where all kind of activities can be done. Public spaces belong to everyone and they should act as supports for a number of activities and events, beyond what can be planned, spaces where citizens can act in freedom and spontaneously. In order to reach high quality spaces in Vallecas, Madrid City Hall organised a competition with two goals: the first of a social character and the second of an ambiental context. Ecosistema Urbano won the competition proposing three aligned huge cylinders, conforming a ludic walk that contrasts with the desertic landscape surrounding Madrid. The project was divided in two phases for its development according to the EMVS. First, a climatic pavilion prototype and part of the urbanizations were built by the Communitary Program. For the second phase the Economy and Technologic innovation Ministry would complete the project building the ludic and the mediatic pavilion, finishing with the rest of the urbanizations.
Judit Lastres Aguilera Irene de Miguel López Strategies In order to achieve those goals, the architects proposed as a main strategy the innovation in technology associated with the bioclimatic conditioning of the public spaces, raising awareness in sustainability in the public entities. The strategy opted for is one of concentration that acts on and adapts specific areas by supplying them with higher climatic comfort and serving as the seed of a public space regenerating process. A building is not necessary, but a place for people whose shape is defined by the very activity developed in it at a given time. Three pavilions work as artificial trees that support multiple activities. Installed as temporary prosthesis, they will be used only until the activity in the area and the climatic conditioned environment are restored. Then they will be dismantled, while the remaining empty areas will resemble forest clearings. These pavilions will be aligned, conforming a ludic walk in contrast with the desertic landscape that surrounds it. Each one of the cylinders works as a tree: it regulates the atmosphere inside it, containing a series of programs and activities.
The cylinder is formed by sixteen vertical tubes. These conducts are topped by steerable wind grabbers that introduce hot air from the outside. A fan activates itself when the exterior temperature reaches 27 degrees to propel down the air. As it goes down by the conduct, hot air goes through an atomized cloud, made by climbing plants, humidifying and refrigerating it. This system, based in
Judit Lastres Aguilera Irene de Miguel López evapotranspiration techniques, increases the relative humidity and is capable of decreasing the atmosphere temperature around 10 degrees. Besides, these pavilions help to purify around 11 tons of polluting gases per year, consuming only what it produces by photovoltaic panels that capture solar energy. That’s why the boulevard is usually called “the nature boulevard”. The use of technology plays on this project a critical and decisive role as it adapts to an authentic and specific context. The architectural potential of technology lies on its reprogramming and combination with other elements, so that true architectural ready-mades are configured. In this case, climatic adaptation techniques normally employed in the farming industry are borrowed. The simple climatic adaptation systems installed in the trees of air are of the evapotranspirative type, which is often used in greenhouses. This aerotechnical practice or artificial adaptation is not a part of a commercial strategy. On the contrary, it tries to undo the leisure - consumption binomial and reactivate the public space by creating climatically adapted environments (8ºC-10ºC cooler than the rest of the street in summer) where citizens will be once again active participants in public spaces. Difficulties Making a SWOT analysis we discover the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Weaknesses: The need of permanent surveillance for a correct maintenance. Threats: Vandalism and the wear/damage of the elements by marginal groups. Strengths: The design of the bioclimatic trees will attract people and activities. It is made totally with recycled materials. The project is self-sufficient, the “tree” itself produces all the energy that needs. Encouragement for the relation between neighbours, the oldests and the youngests, and the promotion of a cultural exchange.
Judit Lastres Aguilera Irene de Miguel López Opportunities: Privileged situation in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Central hub between the old town and the new expansion districts. Improvement of the medioambiental quality and social sustainability through the implementation of sustainable design criterion. Successes and failures It was necessary to have an "emergency" action that could operate as a forest would in the future. The strategy of concentration, intervening in certain areas and conditioning them, provides more climatic comfort, serving as the trigger of a process of regeneration of the public space. Three pavilions or trees of air work as supports open to multiple activities chosen by the users, like concerts, playgrounds or meeting areas. Installed in the non-city as temporary prostheses, they will be used only until the inactivity and climatic adaptation problem is corrected. Consequently, we could say their installation is a success for now. Once the necessary time has elapsed, these devices should be taken down and the old premises should remain as clearings in the wood. The air tree is a light structure that is self-sufficient in terms of energy and can be dismantled. Selling this energy to the power network generates a superavit on the annual balance sheet and this is reinvested in the maintenance of the structure itself. This is just a model for the management of resources on a project in the course of time.
Judit Lastres Aguilera Irene de Miguel López CONCLUSION The Eco Boulevard in Vallecas in an example of an innovative experience of urban design that intends to improve the environmental comfort, promote the social interaction and be more sustainable than the conventional models of urban development, contributing to the environment and cleaning the air. The environmental and sustainable criteria are present in all the aspects of the project: its recyclable materials, the use of alternative energies, the passive climatization systems, the optimization of resources, the social context or the new wheeled traffic. The possibilities for the vegetation to grow are wide and the conditions to occupy the public space are ideal. Technologic trees are introduced in the dry and devastated area to generate the typical conditions of a forest, like cleaning the air or generating a humid comfortable atmosphere while it controls the proper temperature and humidity to accelerate the vegetation growth. Once that greenery is fully grown the air trees won’t be necessary anymore and they would be transferred to another location. The project generates a new hierarchy where the cars have not priority over pedestrians anymore. This fact helps to implement the domesticity in the streets. Therefore, the creation of this iconic new landmarks increases the activity of the area and provides the citizens with meeting points and also a new identity for a suburb district without character. The goal of the project is to create an atmosphere that invites and promotes activity in an urban public space that is sick due to bad planning, cleaning as well the polluted air while it encourages vegetation to grow.