CODE: 023
ARCHITECTS: cero9 (Cristina Díaz Moreno + Efrén García Grinda)
ALIAS: AmesMM
YEAR: 2002
PROJECT: The Magic Mountain. Ecosystem Mask for Ames Thermal Power Station
LOCATION: Ames, Iowa (USA)
COLLABORATORS: Dries van de Velde, Luis Cabrejas Guijarro, Hsiao Tien Hung, Íñigo González-Haba, Miguel Paredes
Image.
In the city of Ames, placed in the centre of Iowa, an extremely big power station is running at full power, set right in the heart of the city. Two years ago it was decided to face with the disturbing problem of having to transform it visually. Then, we proposed to transform it into a piece of landscape inside the city: a living mountain.
But our proposal doesn’t try to resort to cosmetic treatment, to the erosive power of images and the kitsch assembly of local materials. We propose to answer by means of challenging the established instruments and concepts of gardening, species breeding, architecture and the ecology of living.
Graft.
So, we propose to totally cover with a membrane of roses, lights and honeysuckle the fragmented volumes of the power station. This new skin wraps and adapts to the units at different heights, shrouding and unifying them with a silhouette and a single common material. The membrane creeps above the highest parts of the power station and transform the building into a vertical garden with living technified walls.
Lab.
The species chosen for the construction of this vegetation crust are a combination of rosebush creepers against a green background of honeysuckle. For this purpose we propose to use the immense genetic material developed by Griffith J. Buck (who was born and lived in Ames), who grew many species of roses adapted to the harsh continental climate of Iowa. So that, we propose to use gardeners’ ancestral techniques of genetic selection to induce a modern image in the uncomfortable presence of the power station.
Technique.
For the covering of the outer shell of the power plant we propose to use the growth of the living matter as a base in a grid of recycled polypropylene pallets, measuring five by ten feet and three inches thick. Each one has a structural box girder at the base containing the necessary subsoil to help the plants grow, attached mechanically to the reinforced concrete walls of the power station. In order to facilitate pruning and upkeep by the gardeners a perimeter pathway is cleared between the shell and the walls.
Birds and butterflies.
Ames lies right on the southward migratory route on the American continent. Like a real mountain, the membrane tries to attract the most important butterfly species in the northern United States. At the same time, the power station is turned into an open receptacle where an enormous variety of bird species can nest, attracted by the water tanks and the numerous populations of insects in the vertical rose garden. The power station will provide a resting place for migrating birds and turn into an artificial alternative to the forests and wetlands that have disappeared in this area in recent years.
The assembly of the existing power station and its new image produce an ecosystem that is subject to human interaction. Architecture and energy infrastructure converted into living systems using bioengineering techniques: a magic mountain.
A natural monument that is generated artificially.
In the city of Ames, placed in the centre of Iowa, an extremely big power station is running at full power, set right in the heart of the city. Two years ago it was decided to face with the disturbing problem of having to transform it visually. Then, we proposed to transform it into a piece of landscape inside the city: a living mountain.
But our proposal doesn’t try to resort to cosmetic treatment, to the erosive power of images and the kitsch assembly of local materials. We propose to answer by means of challenging the established instruments and concepts of gardening, species breeding, architecture and the ecology of living.
Graft.
So, we propose to totally cover with a membrane of roses, lights and honeysuckle the fragmented volumes of the power station. This new skin wraps and adapts to the units at different heights, shrouding and unifying them with a silhouette and a single common material. The membrane creeps above the highest parts of the power station and transform the building into a vertical garden with living technified walls.
Lab.
The species chosen for the construction of this vegetation crust are a combination of rosebush creepers against a green background of honeysuckle. For this purpose we propose to use the immense genetic material developed by Griffith J. Buck (who was born and lived in Ames), who grew many species of roses adapted to the harsh continental climate of Iowa. So that, we propose to use gardeners’ ancestral techniques of genetic selection to induce a modern image in the uncomfortable presence of the power station.
Technique.
For the covering of the outer shell of the power plant we propose to use the growth of the living matter as a base in a grid of recycled polypropylene pallets, measuring five by ten feet and three inches thick. Each one has a structural box girder at the base containing the necessary subsoil to help the plants grow, attached mechanically to the reinforced concrete walls of the power station. In order to facilitate pruning and upkeep by the gardeners a perimeter pathway is cleared between the shell and the walls.
Birds and butterflies.
Ames lies right on the southward migratory route on the American continent. Like a real mountain, the membrane tries to attract the most important butterfly species in the northern United States. At the same time, the power station is turned into an open receptacle where an enormous variety of bird species can nest, attracted by the water tanks and the numerous populations of insects in the vertical rose garden. The power station will provide a resting place for migrating birds and turn into an artificial alternative to the forests and wetlands that have disappeared in this area in recent years.
The assembly of the existing power station and its new image produce an ecosystem that is subject to human interaction. Architecture and energy infrastructure converted into living systems using bioengineering techniques: a magic mountain.
A natural monument that is generated artificially.
