Contained Park

Vertical Zoo

Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Our approach to the project does not attempt to strictly solve the problems inherent to the program requirements: instead we tried to take advantage of the limitations imposed by the program in order to propose a building that through its form and organization allows the unique nature of the project to become evident. Working within the restrictions and relations imposed by a vertical scheme, our proposal generates variety in the interaction with animals and the rich and ludic experience for the visitor that is characteristic of a zoo.

To achieve this, the building effectively functions as two buildings:

1. (infra)structural wall containing all required technical, service and circulation spaces: An efficient, machine-like building, providing both structural and functional support to the animal exhibits. The tower is angled south fifteen degrees off the vertical axis to optimize daylight on the north façade and visually connect the ground plane of the reserve to the building.

2. Exhibition trays: cantilevering from the main structure, each animal is contained within a patch of ground, the area of which is given by the program. Each tray is penetrated at various levels by viewing platforms for visitors to engage with animals from different vantage points. The exhibits are enclosed by conventional chain link fence, a ubiquitous and inexpensive construction material that can be used in various layers or densities to produce the level of safety and isolation required by each species. The aviary is the largest and lightest exhibition area, a simple net on top of the building enclosing a portion of air above the reserve, while the auditorium, café, and other public areas occupy the bottom floors.

Between both buildings a “vertical ground” –a wall of grass- is incorporated as a construction material on the north façade. 

Parc Disponible

International Competition (Jardins Jardins: Concours de l'innovation) Paris, 2010

Proposal

Traditionally, the urban park is always inserted as a discontinuity of the built order, read in plan and experienced in space as a piece of land subtracted from the city for the simulation of a “natural” order. Yet in the conditions of the contemporary city, an ever-increasing need for green space is met with a decreasing availability of open land. This project proposes an extreme solution: a park-for-one, a garden for individual and private relaxation and the momentary break from the urban environment, opening the senses to the intensified stimulation of nature in a simulated ecosystem of 15 square meters. In other words, the project attempts to repeat the operation of subtraction of urban fabric and its replacement with “nature” at the scale of a small capsule. Like an oasis in a desert (a secluded, self-contained and self-sufficient environment surrounded by dry land) this experimental green space is isolated from the city by dense vegetation and fully enclosed in glass.

 

Membership:

Just like there are public telephones, WC cabins, velib or metro stations strategically located around the city, there can exist a network of mini-parks that can be used for a maximum of 30 minutes by any member with an access card. Simply sign up online to get your card. Log on to check availability of a park near you. Swipe your card and walk inside, leave the city behind. Sit back and enjoy the fresh air. This condensed garden, a park for one, provides a momentary pause from the city within the city.

 

Performance

The urban oasis serves the double function of individual leisure and environmental device. Each glass box can capture and retain rainwater, use it for irrigation, filter and return the rest to the city’s water supply, as well as filter and purify city air. Sealed glass and a system of mechanical louvers control temperature, creating a microclimate that guarantees a green space 365 days a year.

CIAMSB / Parque de la musica