ECÓPOLIS PLAZA

Rivas Vaciamadrid, Spain
Ecosistema Urbano

Ecópolis Plaza is an energy efficient kindergarten in Rivas Vaciamadrid. The project is not only the kindergarten building, but also a public square and urban park in Madrid on an old industrial site surrounded by heavy transportation industry. In addition to the kindergarten, a solar house and energy agency stand in the plaza, which educate children and adults on solar energy and demonstrate the full cycle of energy consumption, as well as the importance of conservation. The project was conceptualized as an open environmental classroom that integrates ecological initiatives, including an open-air water purification wetland, as well as a water storage tank that meets the irrigation needs of the plaza. The site was regraded to enclose the site from the surrounding heavy industrial zone. The design of the main kindergarten building includes a canvas-like shell that stretches across the property, providing shade for outdoor play areas and learning, while additional retractable shades are used for organic gardening in the property. This human-scale control of microclimatic control sets this project apart as a resource both for the larger community, as well as students within the district, and suggest ways that landscape architects can partner with green buildings to produce projects whose landscape and building designs complement each other, and that urban spaces that are already heavily developed can be transformed into places for community gathering in which ecology is integrated into everyday life, indoors and outdoors.

2010
0.74 acres
1990 feet above sea level

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