COMPETITION CASE STUDY #1
Active Edgy / 2A+B
Since the beginning, it has been very interesting to discover how, despite the fact that we have reached such an advanced state of urbanity (meaning the way we produce our more or less shared space), it is still possible to scrape the bottom of the barrel and find residual urban spaces, with enormous, unexpressed potentials. In a world where design contaminates every possible field of technical knowledge and theoretical thinking, landfills still represent and exceptional void of intentions. The strategy of the Active Edge by 2A+B embodies Grønmo’s landfill as an urban organism able to constantly re-produce its own components (soil, landscapes, trash) and the relative network of socioeconomic processes behind it.
We stop treating landfills as invisible contradictions and enhance them in the Active Edge: a radical strategy that addresses the spatial and biological unity of every landfill, retracing it in order to visualize and nurture its presence.
The landfill’s border is re-configured to generate a space of friction (of denser exchange) that filters external energies through a self-contained artificial landscape. Meaning that outside forces (people – recyclable trash) can be involved in the production of the edge which is enforced by renewable energies (such as solar passive system or the landfill’s gas), rainwater control and trash itself. The complex of liminal activities defines a double hierarchy of spaces on the edge in order to optimize the integration with surrounding infrastructures and access points. Primary hot-spots: on the western entrance, the ECODESIGN CENTER and relative co-generation plant are connected to waste collection and research facilities; on the southern entrance, a new multi-functional building for wellness center, spa and residences is related to storm water treatment and leisure activities; on the north-eastern edge, the double layered parking and the lookout tower facilitate sightseeing and leisure time. Secondary but not less important amenities, spread along the edge: equipped spaces in open setting and equipped covered spaces, toilettes, rest facilities and info points.
So, the main scope of the EcoDesign Center (in connection with the waste collection facility) is to promote smart design and research on innovative materials with a closed life cycle. For instance, endorsing the controlled cultivation of of blueberries (to be used for photovoltaic panels), mushrooms (that become perfect foam for packaging) and hemp (for fabric and fibers). Sustainable thinking is the rule. Trash is the value. Water management constitutes the second macro-systemic dichotomy of the Active Edge, which has its core in the wellness center at the south entrance. These activities, beside the usual passive systems for energy production, benefit from the use of purified water. The water treatment requires a complex project, which includes two levels of purification, one for rainwater (to the edge) and one for the leachate (through the constructed wetland The purified water can be reused in the different functions placed along the border and inside the landscape. Again, sustainable thinking is the rule. Water is the value.
Four landscapes pop out in response to the new built border, acting like complementary agents: the Productive Landscape in the west (with cultivated glasshouses and composting collection facility); the Forest Landscape on the eastern edge; the Constructed wetland at the southern entrance; the barycentric Educational Landscape informed by 2 main squares and “gas-paths�(as underground pipes are metaphorically projected on the surface to define the pedestrian level)
Western and Southern Edges On the western entrance, a first dichotomy of the project involves the EcoDesign center and the Productive Landscape: here we foster the passive production of electricity (with and for the technical infrastructures of the landfill ) and the use of landfill’s soil to produce specific plants and vegetables with which biodegradable products can be obtained.
COMPETITION CASE STUDY #2
Infrastructural Archaeology / Map 13
Map 13 shared with us their project, Infrastructural Archeaology. Landfills are areas of great potential which are but a mere evidence of the uncontrolled cosumerism of this extreme society. They understand that waste should be buried and isolated, and not be forgotten and abandoned. It is thus an open project, where the definite plan of its pieces is not the main interest, but rather the definition of its systems and their development in time. More images and architects’ description after the break.
1 – Waste. Strategies to boost the hidden man-made landscape on the territory As we worked on the analysis of the site, we observed that the waste accumulated, 8 million cubic meters, had completely erased the original topography of the site. If such volume were to be stacked it would reach the height of the Eiffel Tower! It was extremely important for us, to physically show these hidden large quantities of accumulated waste. For this we used an abstract mesh of poles. The height of each pole would be determined by the amount of waste that lays underneath them. Therefore obtaining a topography that creates a new identity in the territory, which can be read as the inverse of the volume of garbage buried below.
2 – Perimeter Belt. Linear Boundary strategy: construction of a belt linking different levels and activities in the “safe areas” of the artificial topography To complete all the elements of the structural base lines, we create a perimeter belt, a path that zigzags between the park and the forest, sewing the proposal. It works as a promenade, the place of all places, which connects the different activities and program proposed, allowing to visit the park understanding its spatial condition. reading the territory as a continuous addition of its historical traces.
3 – Buried Infrastructures. Archaeological transformation of the former structures in the new infrastructures for the growth of the territory This “erased” space is a living organism in the process of decomposition, which needs a number of infrastructures in order to avoid its collapse, such as gas, electricity, water canalization, etc. This fascinating buried network goes by unnoticed by the eyes of bystanders. Not loosing these traces, and revealing its footprint in the surface, is fundamental in a proposal which seeks to reveal the problem of garbage and its correlated mass consumption.
As we can see, the design of the park responds to the buried infrastructures, some of these landscape lines eventually become walking paths, but other just remain visible as traces in the territory, which can be materialized as lines of light, vegetation axis, a series of rocks. The poles which generate the new topography are planted on top of the gas shafts and serve as information poles, light poles, small wind turbines, all of them connected by the perimeter platform belt which plays with the levels and gives access to the different activities. Systems which generate a mesh which reveals the functions and history of the place and that have the clear intention of establishing an interaction between the visitor and the park. A cultural landscape as a sum of the layers which are built up in time and that allow the organization of this space, crucial for debate in the dawn of this new era.
4 – Open Spaces. Articulated strategy of the use and activities in open spaces with higher structural stability The “Safe Areas” will be located in the places we are able to process without damaging the waste cells, these spaces are ideal for recreational uses and open air facilities which can be complemented with small scale construction for complementary services. Following this system new areas could be developed, such as sports facilities, parking, drive-in cinema, vegetable garden to rent, viewing points, camping, open air atage, and more services.
BUILT CASE STUDY #1
Waste-to-Energy Plant (Copenhagen, Denmark) BIG
Located in an industrial area near the city centre the new Wasteto-Energy plant will be an exemplary model in the field of waste management and energy production, as well as an architectural landmark in the cityscape of Copenhagen. The project is the single largest environmental initiative in Denmark and replaces the adjacent outdated Amagerforbraending plant, integrating the latest technologies in waste treatment and environmental performance. The roof of the new Amager Bakke is turned into a ski slope of varying skill levels for the citizens of Copenhagen, its neighboring municipalities and visitors, mobilizing the architecture and redefining the relationship between the waste plant and the city by expanding the existing recreational activities in the surrounding area into a new breed of waste-to-energy plant.
A chimney will extend up from the top of the slope and will emit a smoke ring every time a ton of carbon dioxide has been released, intended to remind local residents of their carbon footprint. These rings will be illuminated by lasers at night. The smokestack is modified to puff smoke rings of 30m in diameter whenever 1 ton of fossil CO2 is released. These smoke rings which are the brainchild of Germany-based art studio realities:united will form due to the condensation of water in the flue gases as they as they slowly rise and cool, serving as a gentle reminder of the impact of consumption and a measuring stick that will allow the common Copenhagener to grasp the CO2 emission in a straightforward way - turning the smokestack traditionally the symbol of the industrial era into a symbol for the future. At night, heat tracking lights are used to position lasers on the smoke rings into glowing artworks.
Project: Waste-to-Energy Plant Client: Amagerforbraending Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Budget: 3,5 BL DKK; 650 MIO USD, 460 MIO EUR Status: 1. Prize Architect: BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group Collaborators: Realities:United (Smoke Ring Generator), AKT (Façade & Structural Consulting), Topotek 1/Man Made Land (Landscape) Building: 95,000 m2 Landscape: 90,000 m2 Roof + ski slope: 32,000 m2 Façade area: 74,000 m2 Administrative + Visitor center floor area: 6,500 m2 Partner-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, David Zahle Project Leader: Brian Yang Team: Jelena Vucic, Alina Tamosiunaite, Armor Gutierrez, Maciej Zawadzki, Jakob Lange, Andreas Klok Pedersen, Daniel Selensky, Gül Ertekin, Xing Xiong, Sunming Lee, Long Zuo
BUILT CASE STUDY #2
Kent County Recycling & Education Center / OOS The other rooftop element besides the parking is a small park that acts as a break area for employees of Maag as well as an amenity for the neighborhood. Here, the landscape architect played off the bright green with contrasting pink planters and overflow bins that reveal the workings of the plant below. Lime trees sit in some of the planters, giving the perception that the rooftop park is an extension of the surrounding trees. By incorporating a park into the design in the beginning stages, a rare amenity was built alongside and above the practical elements that usually take precedence and make a park as a late addition an impossibility.
The building itself is a concrete structure wrapped in a steel mesh, shielding the interior spaces during the day but exposing them at night. Bright green walls continue the theme from the roof, as large-scale graphics playfully illustrate the workings of the plant. Here, the architect and landscape architect worked together to make a NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) easier to live with.
BUILT CASE STUDY #3
Waste Treatment Facility (Barcelona, Spain) Batlle & Roig Architects
The activity of the landfill site has led to unfriendly topographical alterations and modifications in the natural environment. For this reason, we decided to establish the facilities in those areas where the activity of the landfill had already damaged the natural environment. Despite the size of the plant facilities, it is intended to achieve the highest landscape integration with the environment. In order to achieve this goal, we pursue a high topographical adaptation, where the impact from roofs and facades is minimized by the subsequent landscape restoration
The Waste Treatment Facility (CTRV, in Spanish) is located on a hillside overlooking the Coll Cardús massif in the municipality of Vacarisses, in the district of the Vallès Occidental. This site is currently taken up by a controlled waste landfill site nearing its capacity limit. This fact has caused its managing body to consider regulating the closure of the facility and to study possible future uses for the area. The choice of the location of the CTRV has also taken into account different criteria of logistical and economic suitability, as well as the minimization of the environmental impact resulting from the installation and operation of waste managementrelated activities.
The project involves the construction of two large treatment areas under a large roof. These areas, separated by a driveway, are different in height and they sit at different levels. That is the reason why the roof changes its geometry according to the programs and dimensions of each precinct. The roof will cover a variety of requirements: forced air vents, skylights, etc., and they will blend together by the use of a graphic structure that may be transformed into a landscape roof. The different circles contain earth, gravel, and native groundcovers and shrubs. Over time, they will balance the impact of the facility without resorting to camouflage or mimicry.
BUILT CASE STUDY #4
Incineration Line (Roskilde, Denmark) / Erick Van Egeraat
The plant will incinerate waste, from nine surrounding municipalities and from many places abroad to produce electricity and heat power for the whole region of Roskilde. To provide the huge new incinerator line, planned in a relatively flat landscape and next to the relatively small city of Roskilde with a suitable appearance, an international design competition was organized. In 2008 the jury unanimously selected the design proposed by Erick van Egeraat. The design presents an iconic expression for the otherwise functional architecture of the local waste management company Kara/Noveren’s next generation incineration line. The façade consists of two layers: the inner layer is the skin which provides the actual climatic barrier, allowing the second skin to be treated more freely – raw umber-coloured aluminium plates with an irregular pattern of laser cut circular holes. The aluminium plates are treated to give them the desired colour and patina at day time. At night, the programmable lighting, installed between the two facades, gives the building an additional metaphor.
‘‘At night the backlight perforated façade transforms the incinerator into a gently glowing beacon – a symbol of the plant’s energy production. Several times an hour a spark of light will gradually grow into a burning flame that lights up the entire building. When the metaphorical fire ceases, the building falls back into a state of burning embers.’’
The design is based on simple construction details combined with cutting edge manufacturing technology for the production of the aluminium façade panels and clever processing and repetition. Due to its large scale, the incinerator is destined to become an outstanding structure in the wide and open landscape of the Roskilde area and represents a hypermodern and sustainable energy plant, where waste will be turned into power. The new incinerator in Roskilde is created specifically to add value to an otherwise purely industrial complex. Enriching the skyline of this small Danish city, once the Danish Capital, the silhouette of the incinerator also provides an historic comment. The lower part of the building resembles angular roofs of surrounding factories, but the impressive 97-meter spire and its materialization is the modern counterpart of the city’s prime historical monument, the Roskilde Cathedral.
BUILT CASE STUDY #5
Recycling Plant (Madrid, Spain) / Ablos and Herreros
Situated in the Valdemingómez area of Madrid, Spain, this Recycling Plant for urban waste is part of a larger plan to improve both the social and environmental aspects of the Southeast Region. Designed by Madrid’s own Abalos & Herreros, the Plant is only part of a group of projects to create a system for waste treatment and recycling, while also transforming the area to achieve the regional plan’s goals.
The project unifies the typically separate components - including selection, processing and treatment facilities, offices, workshops and storage space - under a single, sloping, green roof (click here for plan). In the architect’s words, the roof echoes “the gravitational character of the process as it does the original hillside upon which it sits”. Aside from the roof, the other major exterior feature is the polycarbonate panels - appropriately recycled. The translucent panels admit light during the day and reverse the process at night, as the Plant admits a soft, yellow glow to the surroundings.
Intended to act as a recycling plant for 25 years, the building will either become a service building or dismantled with the parts recycled or re-used. Hopefully at that time the building will successfully change uses, because even though it is essentially an industrial container, it has been designed and built with such care that it would enhance its region, even if it exists as something else.
A unique aspect of the Recycling Plant is the incorporation of a museum and a route for visitors to watch the recycling process. In addition to the actual working conditions of the Plant, it also tries to educate the public by putting itself on display. In a way, then, the polycarbonate panels allude to the exhibition of the working processes. With the structure and interior finishes showing environmental sensitivity, the overall project - both building and program - goes beyond other “green� buildings.
SITE LOCATION
Morgan Hills Landfill
SITE LOCATION
Morgan Hills Landfill
RESEARCH
Anaerobic digestion