mutations
academic
course
location
type
date
team
iaac, master in advanced architecture
introductory studio
barcelona, spain
renovation
fall 2020
taras kashko
sneha vivek
context
What if the icons that represent a skyline of a city were icons because of its performance, instead of their shape and color?
What if we could change the way we conceive buildings and cities with their world relationship?
What if we could change the relationship with both the citizen and the natural environment?
What if we could change cities’ landmarks?
By 2050, 70% of world population will be living in cities, what will the icons of a city be by then?
climate change
What is climate change ?
A change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
Climate change represents major challenges for cities. Exposure to heat has significant effects on health, worsening chronic illnesses, particularly cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. If emissions continue to rise on a global scale, the temperature in Barcelona could rise by between 2 and 3 ºC (between the middle and the end of the century). That would mean longer and more frequent heatwaves, tropical nights (over 20 ºC) and torrid nights (over 25 ºC), and more droughts.
In the last 34 years, Barcelona has suffered 8 heatwaves. The figures are alarming: in a scenario where action is increasingly needed in the fight against climate change, heatwaves could still quadruple by the end of the century.
mercat de santa caterina
Santa Caterina’s market in Barcelona, designed by the architects Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue, has been, since its inauguration in 2005, one of the most popular icons of the Catalan capital.
It is not simply a decontextualized market, but an architectural intervention and a urban regeneration complex for the inhabitants of the Ciutat Vella district.
The design was developed in the context of the requalification of the old neighborhood market, designed in 1848 on the ruins of the convent of Santa Caterina.
In the words of the designer herself: “the market of Santa Caterina originated from the design of the overlap of the different historical periods have occurred in the place. From the market square you can see the archaeological fragments of the different churches of St. Catherine “.
[Benedetta Tagliabue, 2011]
analysis
The proposal for the rehabilitation of the old Santa Caterina Market, located in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, involves action on the urban fabric adjacent to the existing structure that rationalizes its location. At the same time, the intervention intends to “blend and confuse” with the original structure. Both purposes are achieved by the realization of a new deck, which envelops the structure and extends it beyond the perimeter of the first construction.
The essence of this project is based on the design of its cover, which starts from the metaphor of an immense sea colored by the memory of fruits and vegetables. He also recovered elements already employed at the Hamburg Music School.
The work is spectacular and plays an important role in the urban recovery of Ciutat Vella (municipal project in which Miralles was actively involved).
The roof is transformed into the most important façade of the building, with the disadvantage that it is only visible from the height and, for now, there is no possibility of a viewpoint to contemplate it.
restuarants
interior public space
markets
exterior public space
The roof of Santa Caterina has a surface area of 40,000 m², which we propose to utilize for energy. The urban farm will grow local produce and each type of vegetable has a distinct growing condition.
The urban farm will grow local produce from the area. Each type of vegetable has a distinct and unique growing condition. Produce can be grown year-round because the urban farm has enough energy to outsource.
diffuse radiation (kwh/m2)
sun path
sun radiation anaylsis
direct radiation (kwh/m2)
total radiation per year (kwh/m2)
main issues
Food systems around the world account for 30% of the total energy consumption.
Since most food systems are run primarily on fossil fuels, that means they also account for 20 percent of our global greenhouse gas emissions.
The top countries that produces the most emissions in terms of transportation are Portugal, France, Germany, Brazil, and Mexico.
1. transportation of food
2. efficiency
3. waste
proposal
Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in or around urban areas. Urban agriculture can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, agroforestry, urban beekeeping, and horticulture.
1. Production
Urban farming using hydroponics can produce as much as 10 times more food than regular farming per square foot. This is possible in part because of the vertical design that hydroponic systems allow. That makes easier to produce on as many levels as possible by square foot. This means that if you have 2 square feet of free space in your home you can have a vertical garden system with lettuce, kale, tomatoes and other herbs and veggies growing in shelves, instead of having a corner full of soil, which can destroy your walls.
2. Sustainability
Unlike traditional farming and some other methods, urban farming using hydroponics use 90% less water and a lot less space. This makes this type of indoor farming a far more sustainable food growing method. Also, since it can use no chemical pesticides or herbicides and require less power, this hydroponic techniques for agriculture are helping decrease drought, soil erosion and similar problems associated with regular massive farming productions. Now, that’s the most important fact about sustainability: every time people switch their food production to urban farming, they are helping out conserve the environment
3. Decrease “food miles”
Growing your own food within urban areas not only gives you the freshest produce you can get (talk about farm to table) but it also saves a lot of food miles, thus decreasing contamination due to transportation, packaging and the whole logistics associated with massive food production in rural areas. So not only is more environmentally friendly, but being local and as fresh as it can be, it also encourages people doing urban farming to eat healthier and in season.
2050
Our proposal is to transform the market into a living urban farm.
This is a system that will evolve through time.
Local produce from the area can be grown year-round from the solar energy that comes from the photovoltaic panels.
The umbrella-shaped devices contain the panels that harvests the energy and is designed to fit above the roof.
Each photovoltaic panel is able to track the motion of the sun, always following its movement, so that it can receive maximum sunlight.
Its vertical structure grows from the waste and compost that the farm produces.
It is a symbiotic process in which the compost is the energy for the structure and for the produce.
This aims to reduce the carbon footprint of conventional farming and product distribution.
Within the vertical structures, there are artificial microclimates adapted to each produce, so they can grow year-round.
As a result, the benefits of this cyclical system allow the market to be self-efficient. The community can harvest from the structures whilst replenishing it with waste that it produces.
prototype
We created a prototype for harvesting solar energy.
The prototype uses 9 (2 volts each) solar cells which are controlled through Arduino.
Each cell is designed to fit seamlessly onto the 3D printed servo-motor modules.
Within our Arduino code, we have designed it to track and follow the motion of the sun as it moves through the day.
The energy that is generated from the cells are then converted to generate power.
