Along a new main thoroughfare in the Madrid suburb of Vallecas, ingenious "air trees" made of recycled gasworks are growing.
Equal parts garden folly, architectural icon, town square, and adaptive reuse, the enclosures are the result of a competition won by Madrid design firm ecosistemaurbano:
Ecosistemaurbano were the winners, having come up with a dynamic and futuristic answer to the two goals specified by the competition regarding the main street of Vallecas: to generate social activity and adapt an open space from the bioclimatic point of view.
The architects resorted to urgent action with the aim of creating a sort of linear wood at the centre of the boulevard – a green belt of compact vegetation to be grown in the next 15 to 20 years. In the middle of a young tree plantation along the boulevard, they placed three mock gasworks. These constructions will act as focal points for the social life of the new urban settlement, which to date has no public meeting places. At the base of the three so-called “air trees”, each with a diameter of about 20 metres, a slight hollow will accommodate the normal activities of an urban park.
One has been built thus far. Two more are soon to follow.
Inside, each air tree is distinct: the first air tree has "columns of air" on the outside and climbing vines on the inside; the second will gradually be encased in vines on both exterior and interior surfaces; a third will feature vegetation on the exterior and a projection wall on the interior--a 360-degree theater for public use.
The air trees are also energy independent, offering solar-powered cooling in addition to shade:
The first air tree is the result of 16 hemicycles arranged in a circle, covered with a thermal fabric and supported by a lightweight, easily assembled frame, which is identical for the three large “dynamos”. In terms of energy these theatrical scaffoldings are self-sufficient, relying on a system of photovoltaic solar collection.
An evaporation and transpiration plant has been devised for the air conditioning of these open spaces, which are situated in a zone that suffers from very high temperatures in summer. Water pumped into tanks at the top of the cylinders will be redistributed in the lower layers, where it will be vaporised. This will lower temperatures by eight to ten degrees in the small circular spaces, thus making them very pleasant places in which to relax.
Below, the air tree at night--the perfect destination for a summer evening. (via, also)
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