Located in Escher Wyss Areal, Zurich, the project proposes a new type of urban industry. On an urban level, it aims to become a new centrality that supports the wider ecological footprint within the city through the preservation of plants and culture. This is enabled by introducing the ProSpecie Rara initiative as the 20% public program, which protects local biodiversity through cultivation.

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The 80% industrial program addresses contemporary workspaces through spatial and thermal flexibility. Thermally, the project challenges the recent development of closed and controlled systems and provides different degrees of thermal control for production and comfort across multiple spaces. The project acts as a breathing machine, performing with the surrounding environment throughout the seasons. Surrounded by several performative skins, a thermal landscape with three gradiented internal climatic conditions is created, from uncontrolled to controlled, adapting the temperature control to each tenant’s physical activity.

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Starting from the ground level, the Pro Specie Rara cultivation process is revealed, where the plants are potted onto a vertical conveyor belt as they gradually reach maturity before being exported to the city. Acting as a new centrality, the project reconnects the city by fostering biodiversity at different scales, giving agency back to the public and becoming a part of a wider ecosystem.

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The project aims to become a new centrality that supports the wider ecological footprint within the city through the preservation of plants and culture. The building challenges the recent development of closed and controlled systems and provides different degrees of thermal control for production and comfort across multiple spaces. Defined by several performative skins, a thermal landscape with three gradient internal climatic conditions is created, from uncontrolled to controlled, adapting the temperature control to each tenant’s physical activity.

 

Project Team: George Guida, Pablo Castillo Luna

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Harvard Graduate School of Design, Jeannette Kuo 2020

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