ECOPOLIS PLAZA

RIVAS VACIAMADRID (SPAIN)

Client: Municipality of Rivas Vaciamadrid
Date: 2009/2010
Status: Built
Program: Energy efficient kindergarten and new public space
Scope: Design, strategy and construction follow up.

Ecópolis Plaza is conceived as a source of learning for citizens, educating on energy saving and optimization of natural resources. The project integrates ecology in everyday life, without turning it into an exceptional phenomenon more akin to a theme park or museum. In this project, the architecture is challenged beyond formal experimentation, to transform a vacant lot in the outskirts of Madrid into a space for social interaction.

Ecópolis Plaza brings together on the same site a kindergarten, a ludic space for kids, and a public space. The solution combines passive energy saving systems together with active systems, providing the highest eco-label (A grade) of Spanish law.

In addition all the waste water from the building is naturally purified by a macrophyte lagoon incorporated in the public space. This recycled water is stored under the ground within a gravel tank and then used for all the irrigation needs of the garden. This artificial landscape emulates a natural riverbank. The surrounding topography creates an enclosure and buffer area protecting the building and users from the aggressive industrial environment. Plaza Ecopolis has received several awards among which is a Best Practice from the United Nations Habitat program.

ECOPOLIS PLAZA KINDERGARTEN AND NEW PUBLIC SPACE, what if, rivas, madrid, ecosistema urbano, GIF

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