Cue the Vivaldi; Carlo Ratti Associati has wild plans for its recently unveiled Garden of the Four Seasons design that will allow visitors to experience all four seasons at once at any point throughout the year.
Commissioned by Citylife, a new neighborhood under development in northwest Milan based on a master plan by Zaha Hadid, Daniel Liebeskind, and Arata Isozaki, Garden of the Four Seasons aims to reclaim a closer relationship between urban dwellers and nature’s cycles, according to Carlo Ratti Associati.
The project is based on a concept by Dr. Barbara Römer, founder of the creative consultancy Studio Römer, and makes use of a new system for high-precision climate control. Incoming solar energy is partially collected through photovoltaics and partially distributed among the different seasonal pavilions (each season will be housed in its own pavilion within the overall garden). All of this is accomplished with net-zero energy consumption.
Rendering courtesy Carlo Ratti Associati.
A transparent, responsive EFTE membrane is covered with photovoltaic cells to produce clean energy year-round. A heat exchanger takes the captured solar energy and can heat the summer space or cool the winter area. Heat transfer between the pavilions is also possible and allows each one to achieve the desired intermediate environmental conditions.
The EFTE membrane will house hundreds of vegetable species within the garden. Built-in sensors will open and close the membrane for precise regulation of the enclosed environment. Lighting levels and heat, the two main components of plant growth, are closely monitored and regulated, which will allow the plants’ metamorphosis to follow the different seasonal cycles. Additional sensors will measure the quantity of water, temperature, humidity, and nutrients needed by each vegetable species and relay the information as a series of real-time “tweets” coming from the plants about their status.
Rendering courtesy Carlo Ratti Associati.
Visitors can enter the garden in spring and walk through to winter, observing nature’s transformation along the way. People can dine al fresco during the cold winter months or hold a wedding in the Eternal Spring area.
Rendering courtesy Carlo Ratti Associati.
The Garden of the Four Seasons will cover over 2500 sm.
Related Stories
Cladding and Facade Systems | Apr 5, 2023
Façade innovation: University of Stuttgart tests a ‘saturated building skin’ for lessening heat islands
HydroSKIN is a façade made with textiles that stores rainwater and uses it later to cool hot building exteriors. The façade innovation consists of an external, multilayered 3D textile that acts as a water collector and evaporator.
Sustainability | Apr 4, 2023
ASHRAE releases Building Performance Standards Guide
Building Performance Standards (BPS): A Technical Resource Guide was created to provide a technical basis for policymakers, building owners, practitioners and other stakeholders interested in developing and implementing a BPS policy. The publication is the first in a series of seven guidebooks by ASHRAE on building decarbonization.
Sustainability | Apr 4, 2023
NIBS report: Decarbonizing the U.S. building sector will require massive, coordinated effort
Decarbonizing the building sector will require a massive, strategic, and coordinated effort by the public and private sectors, according to a report by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS).
Multifamily Housing | Mar 24, 2023
Momentum building for green retrofits in New York City co-ops, condos
Many New York City co-op and condo boards had been resistant to the idea of approving green retrofits and energy-efficiency upgrades, but that reluctance might be in retreat.
Geothermal Technology | Mar 22, 2023
Lendlease secures grants for New York’s largest geothermal residential building
Lendlease and joint venture partner Aware Super, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds, have acquired $4 million in support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to build a geoexchange system at 1 Java Street in Brooklyn. Once completed, the all-electric property will be the largest residential project in New York State to use a geothermal heat exchange system.
Sustainability | Mar 16, 2023
Lack of standards for carbon accounting hamper emissions reduction
A lack of universally accepted standards for collecting, managing, and storing greenhouse gas emissions data (i.e., carbon accounting) is holding back carbon reduction efforts, according to an essay published by the Rocky Mountain Institute.
Green Renovation | Mar 5, 2023
Dept. of Energy offers $22 million for energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades
The Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy is offering more than $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance to teams across America. Prize recipients will be selected based on their ideas to accelerate widespread, equitable energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades.
AEC Innovators | Mar 3, 2023
Meet BD+C's 2023 AEC Innovators
More than ever, AEC firms and their suppliers are wedding innovation with corporate responsibility. How they are addressing climate change usually gets the headlines. But as the following articles in our AEC Innovators package chronicle, companies are attempting to make an impact as well on the integrity of their supply chains, the reduction of construction waste, and answering calls for more affordable housing and homeless shelters. As often as not, these companies are partnering with municipalities and nonprofit interest groups to help guide their production.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 1, 2023
Multifamily construction startup Cassette takes a different approach to modular building
Prefabricated modular design and construction have made notable inroads into such sectors as industrial, residential, hospitality and, more recently, office and healthcare. But Dafna Kaplan thinks that what’s held back the modular building industry from even greater market penetration has been suppliers’ insistence that they do everything: design, manufacture, logistics, land prep, assembly, even onsite construction. Kaplan is CEO and Founder of Cassette, a Los Angeles-based modular building startup.
Sustainable Design and Construction | Feb 28, 2023
Architecture 2030 launches free carbon calculator for retrofit projects
Architecture 2030’s Carbon Avoided Retrofit Estimator (CARE) tool allows project teams and building owners to accurately quantify the carbon “savings” in retrofit or reuse projects versus new construction.