However, sustainable lighting is more of a mindset than a simple effort to reduce watt consumption. It’s about challenging yourself to avoid wasting electricity.

The 100-watt frosted incandescent light bulb that is being phased out by is certainly less efficient than fluorescent and LED alternatives. But it’s important to remember the reason it’s not sustainable: Ninety percent of its energy is not used to create light at all; it’s released as heat. Therefore, we end up using even more electricity to offset the heat output. Sustainable lighting should do what it’s supposed to – create brilliant, beautiful light – without the waste.

The concept of using lighting controls to improve efficiency rarely enters the mainstream energy efficient lighting conversation. Rather, dimmers and other lighting controls are typically categorized as aesthetic additions.

Dimmers are inherently sustainable! They enable you reduce lighting levels to your needs, cutting out all unnecessary electricity. In fact, if each U.S. household installed one dimmer, it’s estimated we would reduce overall electricity costs by $230 million and cut down on CO2 emissions equivalent to that of 370,000 cars.

Last November, at the Washington Post’s Smart Energy conference, Lighting Science Group CTO Fred Maxik discussed the changes he predicts for lighting in the future related to communication through microprocessors. “It could be a light bulb that’s just so smart that it detects sunlight coming through the window [and] starts dimming until you get the lighting you desire,” he said.

It’s easy to become focused on light source when thinking about greening a home. However, sophisticated lighting controls and dimmers will play just as large of a role in the future of sustainable lighting.

Emily Widle is a marketing specialist and blogger for Pegasus Lighting. On the “Light Reading” blog, she covers news, tips, and trends related to the lighting industry. She recently helped launch a lighting sustainability campaign called A Greener Light in an effort to start a dialogue about efficient lighting in the U.S.

As the city grew around them, the Jacobses decided to move out to the country near Madison.  They rejected Wright’s first concept for their second home, however, mostly, as they expressed in letters written to him, out of fear of large energy bills from a too-large home with glass-enclosed  rooms with 13-foot high ceilings in the exposed country setting of the house.

Now this was a Wright-sized challenge.  He responded by adapting the same principles developed in Usonian I but this time expressly oriented to a passively solar heated and naturally cooled design , which he termed the “Solar Hemicycle” (also known as Jacobs II).  The house was constructed in 1946-48, and has been continually occupied since then.  In 2003 it was designated a National Historic Landmark building.

The Solar Hemicycle is semicircular in plan, featuring a single concave arc of fourteen-foot high glass spanning the two stories both vertically and horizontally, and opening southward to a circular sunken garden and the Wisconsin prairie beyond.  The north, east, and west sides are bermed up to the height of the clerestory windows on the second floor, protecting the house from cold winter north winds, while the sunken garden in front combines with the rear smooth berming to create am air pressure differential that deflects snow and wind up and away from the large south-facing windows.  (This author has personally experienced this remarkable phenomenon many times.)

The interior lower level features a concrete floor slab for direct absorption and conversion of the incoming radiant solar energy.  Imbedded within the floor is a radiant boiler-heated system for back-up heating that emulates and supplements the solar-warmed floor.  All interior walls are Wisconsin limestone, providing an irregular and enhanced mass surface area for thermal energy exchange and interior temperature stabilization.  There are no dividing walls throughout the entire width of the downstairs, allowing for air and heat distribution evenly throughout.

The second floor is a five-bedroom balcony, suspended from the roof joists and hence not requiring obstructing support from below.  The front of the balcony is pulled away from the south glazing by several feet, enabling the solar-heated air from below to rise up onto the second floor and into the bedrooms over the full balcony width.  The air return of this convective loop is completed by a large circular stairwell connecting the two floors.

Summer natural cooling is aided by the adequate shading overhangs over the south-facing glass, as well as by the massive external earth berming and interior exposed thermal mass.  Summer “stack effect” daytime ventilation and nocturnal cooling are promoted by the operable glass doors in the south façade and the continuous band of operable clerestory windows along the entire upper portion of the bedroom north walls.

The semicircular plan actually reduces the solar gain by about 8% in comparison with a straight south-facing plan, but the arc provides support for the north wall, reducing structural costs, while the bermed arc serves to channel cold winds around and away from the south glazing to reduce heat losses.  The semicircular shape also provides for a sense of room separations and even gives visual privacy as one moves along the arc through the interior undivided spaces.

The house was constructed originally according to the norm of the day, with single-pane windows and minimal insulation above the berm levels and in the ceiling.  In the 1980s a new owner replaced all single-pane with double-pane glass, re-roofed with exterior insulation, and installed thermal night curtains (all of which we may assume that Wright would have specified, had they been available at the time).

Careful energy-use records kept by the third (and still present) owners, combined with this author’s thermal load calculations, enabled a determination of the passive solar performance of the house.  The passive solar features provide an average 53% furnace energy saving (“solar savings fraction”) for the entire Wisconsin winter.  The monthly savings coincide very closely in percentage with the average available solar radiation (“percent sun”), suggesting that the house on the average gains heat on a sunny day in amount to that which is used over a 24-hour period.

This is a very successful and exemplary “climate responsive”passive energy design, now in its 63^rd year of operation.

*The material in this brief description is derived from three published articles by the author, as well as from many years of experiencing life in that house.  The first two articles are largely summarized in the third, although with lesser detail.

Frank Lloyd Wright and the “Solar Hemicycle”, Proceedings of the 14th National Passive Solar Conference, Denver, Colorado, M.J. Coleman, Ed., American Solar Society, Inc., 14, 3-17 (June, 1989);

Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Solar Hemicycle” Revisited:  Measured Performance Following Thermal Upgrading, Proceedings of the 17th National Passive Solar Conference, Cocoa Beach, Florida, 52-57 (1992); and

The “Solar Hemicycle” Revisited:  It’s Still Showing the Way, Wisconsin Academy Review, 39, No. 1, 33-37 (1992-93).

Dennis Hayes, founder of Earth Day 1970

I grew up with a great appreciation for the indigenous earth, stone and timber buildings of my native New Mexico and found inspiration in the local designers who were tapping-in to the native intelligence of these design traditions for their own work. Peter van Dresser, a local writer and experimenter, whose lifelong interest in technology and its application within the framework of ecological processes was experimenting with sun-powered dwellings built from local materials and informed by both climate and culture. At Los Alamos, Douglas Balcomb, a physicist turned solar designer, was leading cutting-edge research on digital methods to predict the optimal balance of glass, thermal mass, and insulation to produce low-energy “passive solar” buildings around the country. Architect Ed Mazria was applying these principles in some of the most interesting contemporary architecture in the region and illustrated these in a popular pattern book for passive solar design. In the work of these visionary designers I saw a career path and a role for place-responsive, sun-powered architecture in a renewable energy future.

La Vereda Compound, Mazria Associates Architects

A decade later fresh out of undergraduate school I had a summer internship at the Solar Energy Research Institute, a new national laboratory under the direction of Denis Hayes with the mission of developing knowledge and technology to transition the nation from fossil fuels to renewable energy. SERI researchers were actively working on a plan to satisfy 20% of our national appetite for energy from renewable sources by the year 2000. But 1981 was also “morning in America,” the first year of the Reagan administration, and the White House decided that such efforts were best left for the private sector to develop in response to market demand. SERI was stripped of much of its funding and Denis Hayes delivered a memorable resignation speech, criticizing this misguided, short-sighted approach.

When I came to Seattle four years ago and finally met Denis, he hinted at creating a paradigm-shifting, ultra green urban building in Seattle as both a prototype and living laboratory for buildings of the future. Since then, the University of Washington’s Integrated Design Lab has been part of a large collaborative effort to help realize his vision for a net-zero energy and water building designed to radically transform our expectations for buildings and their performance.

The Bullitt Center, the Miller Hull Partnership, Seattle

When Miller Hull’s design for the Bullitt Center was unveiled to the public last May, Denis Hayes reminding the audience of the litany of environment threats and remarked, “…if the world had 3 or 4 centuries to address today’s major challenges we would be right on track, we might even be a little ahead of schedule. But we don’t have any time at all. What we need right now are some major leap-frogs that are broadly occurring around the planet. At the risk of being provocative I don’t believe there is a single office building today in the United States that is truly designed for today’s environment, much less for tomorrow’s. So, we set out to build one. With, what I hope is going to turn out to be no hyperbole at all, we set out to build the greenest office building by far in the world. A building that per area of square foot inside will use 40% less energy than the next most efficient building currently out there. A building that’s flexible, resilient, sustainable, a building that its creators can still be proud of 250 years from now.”

At ground-breaking for the project on Capitol Hill last week, Denis articulated the hope that this building might be “… the harbinger of a new architectural era characterized by ultra efficiency, renewable resources, zero-toxic materials, integrated design that allows the same building components to serve multiple goals, and very, very long-term durability,” a building with a design life of 250 years.

Rob Peña is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington where he teaches architectural design and building science and ecological design. As a building performance consultant with the UW Integrated Design Lab, Rob works regionally with architects on the development of high performance and net-zero energy buildings. He is currently working on a book about the design and construction of the Bullitt Center.

8 dwellings
145-151 Laurel St.
Northern Liberties, Philadelphia
2009

The first LEED for Homes Platinum duplex residences
in the U.S.A.

This eight unit residential project explores the highly efficient and architecturally latent potentials hidden within the traditional form of the Philadelphia “Row” home. The vertical rhythm, regularity yet diversity of this most prevalent residential urban typology was the primary source of inspiration for this experiment. Thin faces fronting both Laurel and Pollard Streets mask and blur conventional lines of demarcation between all eight duplex dwellings both vertically and horizontally. In the process, a degree of density yet expansiveness uncommon to the thin space of the urban duplex emerges.  The Philadelphia “Row” is by nature a long, thin slice of dense, sustainable, urban space, typically ‘light-deficient’ and insular at its core. Thin Flats questions this traditional ‘deficiency’ by spatially reconfiguring the relationship between the interior and its skin such that its ‘core’ is flooded with light and air. This skin also affords each room on the ‘periphery’ of the dwelling the ability to step outside, and yet remain within the skin.

SUSTAINABLE ELEMENTS:
- Third Party verification that each unit is a minimum 50% more energy efficient in cooling, and domestic hot water energy usage than required by code
- Solar Thermal panels to provide domestic hot water needs
- Planted ‘green’ roofs to decrease thermal heat gain, prolong roof life, assist in storm water management, and provide planted and habitable rooftop gardens with views of center city
- Rainwater harvesting cisterns beneath parking area for irrigation of yards / gardens
- Each unit includes a detailed Home Owner’s Manual outlining the specific features and systems that are offered in the home that make it a LEED Platinum project
- Low flow faucets and fixtures reduce water consumption by 50%
- Concrete containing a minimum of 25% recycled fly ash content
- Double pane, low E, argon filled, thermally broken, aluminum clad wood windows and doors
- Home automation technology by Colorado vNet – centralized and programmable lighting, heating, cooling, security, and audio/video entertainment system to maximize convenience and minimize energy use
- Grade 1 insulation package including foam sealing of all joints to minimize air infiltration and closed cell spray-in foam insulation in exterior walls
- Maximum use of sustainable framing materials
- Maximum use of locally sourced / manufactured materials
- Hydronic radiant in-floor heating system
- HVAC system designed to ACCA Manual recommendations
- HRV(Heat Recovery Ventilation) system- Insulated hot water supply pipes
- Low or no VOC (volatile organic compounds) emitting paints, adhesives, and sealants
- Located within one block of public transportation
- Electric car charging port with fully electric car optional

VOID: SURFACE: VEIL

The façade of Thin Flats is at once a surface and a void, blurring the limits of the units within. The façade of the lower units is pushed back from the sidewalk to accommodate circulation.  The separation also floods a ‘basement’ space with light, aids in solar shading and creates a veil from public view. Balconies on upper floors recess behind the surface of the veil to create opportunities for civic engagement within the thin space of the façade.

Mike McDonald is an award winning green builder and developer.  Prior to joining sustainable custom home builder and general contractor Ryan Associates, Mike was the first builder to complete three LEED® Platinum custom homes in Northern California with McDonald Construction & Development. Mike’s brothers, who operate as Onion Flats are the design and development team behind the Thin Flats project in Philadelphia.

LOST IN THE SHADOWS

For me, using LEDs as task lighting is still a developing technology. I am very happy with the lumen output that we are starting to see now, along with the color quality. I personally lean towards a warmer color tone that is close to that of incandescent (2700° Kelvin), but many others do prefer the slightly cooler color temperature like that of halogen (3000° Kelvin). Still others that are doing fine detail work, such as jewelry making, like to have a color temperature close to that of daylight (5000° Kelvin).

Where I am seeing room for improvement is how to deal with the creation of multiple shadowing when more than one LED source is used in a task light. Those fixtures on the market with a single source LED act like a single source incandescent or fluorescent. One source equals one shadow, which is what we have all grown up with what we are used to seeing. But a single source LED may not provide enough illumination for many people. When multiple light sources are used, as we are seeing in the LED task lights that are coming onto the market, you get a shadow image for each light source. The more individual LED diodes you have in a fixture the more shadowing you get as well. When reading a book or a magazine this really isn’t an issue, but if your hand, pen or pencil comes in between the light source and the work surface it can have a lot of disconcerting shadowing with which to contend.

Although I am not lighting fixture designer, per se, I think of myself as an informed consumer who is constantly testing what is available out there on the market. My suggestion to the task light designers is that when multiple LED sources are used then some sort of diffusion material, in the form of a lens, will help ameliorate the problem. As individual LED sources become stronger and only one source is used then shadowing no longer is an issue.
Many manufacturers of recessed LED fixtures have seen that that this multiple shadowing was an issue and have produced fixtures with an integral diffusion lens. It would be a good idea if the manufacturers of LED task lights would take a look at what the recessed LED fixture manufacturers are doing and see how they can incorporate the addition of a diffusion material into their products.

I still am a very strong advocate of using LED sources for task lighting. I would just like to see the next step in refinement; so that when people make the investment they are getting something that they can live happily with for the next 16 or 17 years. Since LEDs last for so darn long I want to make sure that my love will last.

Randall Whitehead is a frequent contributor to Green Architecture Notes.

The completed EcoCenter from the South East.

As a follow-up to a recent post on Heron’s Head EcoCenter, we caught up with Alex Rood of Fulcrum Structural Engineering to discuss his contributions to the project. For those who have not read our recent post on the project, Heron’s Head EcoCenter is San Francisco’s first off-the-grid educational facility and laboratory for sustainable design sponsored by the non-profit organization Literacy for Environmental Justice. A project 10-years in making, the EcoCenter was finally completed in 2010, and incorporates many innovative sustainable design features including solar panels (both PV and solar thermal), living roof, rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse, living machine on-site wastewater treatment, SIP panels, super green concrete mix, recycled building materials, passive design, and the list goes on.

Site/soil: Located on a former industrial landfill in Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco, Alex’s first challenge was to design the foundation system that could sit atop the soil with extremely poor bearing capacity. To overcome the less than favorable soil condition, he decided to utilize 10” mat slab but he also had to incorporate a series of troughs for the indoor constructed wetland into the slab/foundation design. The challenge did not end there. The soil condition was so poor that he was told to anticipate as much as 10” to 12” of settlement over time. This meant utilities that would typically be laid below the slab now had to be routed within concrete troughs formed into the slab until they exited the structure above grade to make service connections. To make matters worse, he found out that below the site is a clay layer of landfill cap designed to remediate the contaminated soil, but the exact depth of this cap layer could not be determined. He had to proceed with caution to ensure that the weight of the structure would not cause the cap layer to fracture. In addition to solving all of these engineering challenges, it was his job to provide a cost effective foundation design to fit the tight budget of the project.

Rebar prior to pouring of the concrete foundations.

Concrete: Almost every modern structure in the world uses concrete to varying extent. While its longevity makes it a good building material, the environmental footprint of cement production is something Alex wanted to tackle on this project. According to Alex, experts estimate that cement production contributes to about 7% of carbon dioxide emission from human source. He started by specifying a green concrete mix containing 50% slag for cement replacement but once the job broke ground, he collaborated with the concrete sub-contractor and the supplier, Bode Concrete, to push this green concrete mix further, ultimately ending up with 80% slag and 100% recycled course aggregate. In the end, not only was he able to use the greenest concrete mix he, or Bode Concrete, had ever heard of, but the builder was able to provide concrete that was superior to the original specification in many ways. It ended up exceeding the compressive strength requirement by two fold, the concrete showed no cracks and will provide superior protection against rebar corrosion, all thanks to its high slag content.

SIPs panels prior to sheathing

Framing: Once out of the ground, the remainder of the structure was designed using Structural Insulated Panels (SIP). Having worked on many other SIPs jobs with the project architect, Toby Long, Alex knew that Toby would want to use SIPs for the project for many of its environmental preferable attributes. There are always challenges in designing SIPs structures in seismically active zones, especially when the building is not a simple box but he was able to use his extensive experience with SIPs to help Toby realize his design. Being the first SIPs project for the builder and the framing crew, he worked very closely with the builder and was often asked to offer creative solutions to troubleshoot issues arising in the field. Thanks to the countless hours of research by the LEJ project manager Laurie Schoeman, SIPs panels made with FSC-certified OSB panels were sourced. All framing lumber used in the job to amend the SIPs system was also all FSC-certified.

We asked Alex what was the best part of the project for him.

The completed EcoCenter from the South East

It was the collaborative effort with the concrete sub-contractor, Gerald Creed of OSM Co. and the local concrete producer, Bill Garland of Bode Concrete. In fact, it was Gerald who initiated the idea of exploring an even greener concrete mix than the 50% cement replacement originally specified. Bill had worked with a concrete mix with 75% cement replacement, and he has also used crushed returned course concrete aggregate in non-structural flatworks. Not only did we decide to combine both of these ideas, but we also decided to use the mix for the structural slab/foundation, while increasing the slag content by additional 5%.

Alex believes it was the collective knowledge and will to do the right thing for the environment that allowed them to take the leap of faith to push the boundary of the green concrete mix. Everyone went above and beyond their call of duty to come up with the greenest concrete mix they have ever worked with.

Taisuke Ikegami is an architect working at Feldman Architecture and is a frequent contributor to Green Architecture Notes.

The roof garden from above with terrace.

In previous posts, we have looked at the addition of a green roof over a garage at a residence located on a steep slope which provided the clients with a planted space in the front of the house.  In a second post, we looked at the implementation of a green roof as a key design component which allows the new residence to blend into a lush landscape.

In this section, we will take a look at the design of a new residence which provides a garden hideaway for the clients.  For the 2 Bar Project in Menlo Park, California, the clients came to the project looking for cost effective, energy efficient solutions for their home. They are also avid gardeners and offering the clients additional square footage to plant, as opposed to a traditional roof, was appealing to the clients.

The 500sf roof garden is hidden from view until climbing the main stairway and catching a glimpse of the garden from the second floor bridge.  Accessible from the master bedroom,

View to the garden from the master bedroom.

the green roof includes a recessed roof deck which comfortably seats the family of four. In terms of sustainability, the green roof over the living/dining/kitchen area serves to insulate the house in cool weather, controls solar heat gain and reduces water run-off.

Typical, intensive green roof assembly would have required up-sizing of the roof framing, including additional steel, rendering it cost prohibitive. Instead, an exceptionally lightweight engineering with a shallow 2-6” soil depth for the 2 Bar green roof assembly with sedum plants and river rock edging overcomes this challenge. The garden, designed and planted by Lauren Schneider of Wonderland Garden, has been blooming for two years.  Sedum, succulents, aloe, vivums, and ice plants make up the garden which flowers in swaths of white and purple – an unexpected, secret garden in a suburban neighborhood.

2 BAR TECHNICAL INFO

View of house and green roof.

The green roof here includes a layer of plastic coating, a roofing barrier, a drainage mat to facilitate drainage, a capillary mat that holds water and encourages plants to take root, a subterranean drip system, a filter fabric to prevent the soil from clogging, a lightweight planting material (15 pounds per square foot) and the seedlings.

Jonathan Feldman is Editorial Director of Green Architecture Notes and Principal of Feldman Architecture.

ShektaStone – Counterfeit Line: Recycled Paper – Currency removed from Circulation

ShetkaStone is made from 100% recycled paper, plant, or cloth fibers. For the counterfeit line they use shredded currency, removed from circulation. Plaster, plastic polyester, and paper glue are used as supplemental binding agents, and then sealed with a zero VOC finish. When you’re finished with your ShektaStone, it can be recycled and used in the manufacturing of new products.

Teragren – Moso Bamboo: Strand Face in Wheat

Bamboo is an amazing material. Used for everything from serving utensils to structural building materials, this resource covers the gamut and it’s rapidly renewable. Teragren uses a specific species of bamboo for their surfaces. Optimum 5.5 Moso Bamboo from the Zhejiang province in China, is among the hardest species, with extremely dense fibers. Bamboo reaches maturity every 5-1/2 to 6 years, when it is then harvested for use.

ConcreteWorks – Color Husk: Concrete surface with Rice Hull Fillers

ConcreteWorks has developed a sustainable concrete without compromising its wonderful character. They have replaced raw aggregates with post-consumer recycled material and industrial by-products, diverting upwards of 80% of the total product weight in material from landfill. In the Husk color, one of those recycled fillers is rice hulls. This protective covering for a grain of rice, is a natural substitute for raw aggregates and creates beautiful visual texture.

Trinity Glass – Absolutely: Recycled Glass and Low-Carbon Cement

Trinity Glass is a composite surface made from a patent-pending formulation of recycled glass and low-carbon cement. The surfaces are used for countertops, tabletops, wall cladding, and exterior surfaces. The beautiful color palette is suitable for any design, commercial or residential.

OKITE – Prisma Giallo: Quartz

OKITE is composed of natural quartz crystals. This surfacing material is highly stain and scratch resistant, making it a great option for kitchen and bath applications. The manufacturing process creates a product that is harder, non-porous and easier to maintain than natural stone.

Squak Mountain Stone – Recycled Paper and Glass / Low-Carbon Cement / Fly Ash – Natural

Squak Mountain Stone is a fibrous-cement material comprised of recycled paper, recycled glass, coal fly-ash and cement. The material is hand-cast into “slabs” as an alternative to natural or quarried stone. This product is finished beautifully with a similar resemblance to soapstone or limestones.

The design of the Karoo Wilderness Center, located in South Africa, has recently won the Progressive Architecture Award for its sensitivity to its site, self-reliance, and stunning design. Jess Field of Field Architecture describes, “The site demanded a solution that focused on water… and a form that speaks to it.” The design first focused on providing water, power, and waste systems that work together and support a building that lacks access to municipal utilities. The solution was also shaped by the desire to create an experience that affects the consciousness of visitors.

An Aloe Ferox Plant in Bloom

Field Architecture consists of Jess and his father Stan; each has strong connections to the area and hope the project will set an example of building in way that ensures the beauty of the land will last. The Karoo desert supports the greatest botanical diversity of any arid region. The Karoo Wilderness Center provides a library, dining facility and residences for leaders and visitors concerned with the conservation of natural resources. While visitors will feel the weight of the roof and its important function above them, their view will be pushed outward towards the landscape.

Section of an Aloe Plant

Many of the thriving plants in the Karoo are in the succulent family, well-known for aloe vera, which store water in swollen appearing leaves, stems or roots. The aloe ferox, similar to aloe vera and also harvested for its aloe and sap, was Field Architecture’s inspiration for the swollen roofs which gather and store rainwater. The roofs also provide temperature control for the building. During the hot day, the ceiling forms encourage air flow through each of the three pavilions while stored water provides evaporative cooling. In the evenings when heating is required, water warmed by the sun provides radiant heat. In addition, photovoltaic panels provide power and the facility processes its own waste.

The project is currently following a construction schedule that respects the fragile state of the land. Before infrastructure could be installed, aloe ferox plants were carefully relocated. The threat of unnatural erosion resulting from construction and transportation is minimized by observing the natural rain cycles.

Field Architecture was formed in 2006 and maintains an international practice out of their Palo Alto office. To learn more about their practice, visit http://fieldarchitecture.com/

Camille Cladouhos works at Feldman Architecture and is a frequent contributor to Green Architecture Notes.

Photo: Pietro Savorelli

On this Earth Day, I’d like to recognize a project that focuses our attention on critical issues and is also paired with the grace of elegant design.

Photo: Pietro Savorelli

Water is one of the planet’s most vital and possibly one of the most endangered resources that life depends on.  Filtration plants come in all sizes and shapes and have various processes from heavy chemical treatment that is dumped into the oceans to biofiltration systems that can bring grey and black water up to drinking standards.  Most plants are somewhere in the middle, doing their best to eliminate the use of chemicals and to retain and reuse water locally.  One of these plants is the WFP of Sant’Erasmo Island in Venice, Italy by C+S Associati.

As part of a larger urban infrastructure and environmental upgrade plan, the WFP is located on the southeastern edge of Sant’Erasmo Island on public land.  The large programmatic elements required by the water filtration system were going to take up most of the public land on the island.  C+S decided instead to place most of that space under ground and to only house the areas that need to be accessible for

maintenance to be above ground.  The area above the buried elements could then be dedicated to the public where paths intertwine with the landscape plantings.

Photo: Pietro Savorelli

C+S’s design of the now much reduced building above ground reflects this relationship by having linear concrete walls of dyed concrete to reflect the color of the ground that seem to rise up out of its roots that are buried deep within the earth.  This is reminiscent of the Austrian batteries that inspired the architects with their utilitarian beauty.  The parallel arrangement of these heavy, linear walls speak to the cultivation of the landscape nearby where artichokes are grown.  The building, which can only be experienced from the exterior by the public, interplays with the landscape and directs views to the horizon where land meets sky.

Photo: Pietro Savorelli

Site Plan

Photo: Pietro Savorelli

Park Plan