eco village
a sustainable community of student housing
A beautiful building becomes beautiful ruins. To be truly “sustainable,” the building’s entire life must be considered. From conception, to built structure, to ruin, the way a building affects its local and global environment at each stage matters. This eco village uses recyclable wood for almost all materials, in addition to energy reducing systems, to ensure a sustainable building at all stages. The design inspiration for the eco village comes from old civilization ruins such as the Roman ruins or Houtouwan village in China. These places have maintained their beauty in ruin. The built structures have been slowly reclaimed into the natural landscape. Taking that process in reverse, this new eco village grows out of nature.
In doing so, the eco village creates an enriching relational experience between nature and built space. The systems of water, greenery, and pedestrian pathways overlap and cross each other throughout the site so that as students walk about the village they are constantly interacting with nature. The village becomes a place that not only is sustainable in an environmental sense but it also sustains the mental awareness of nature within the urban environment. This interaction serves as a constant reminder of the beauty in our natural systems, and the need to protect them.
sustainable strategies:
1. overhang protects second level from summer sun
2. east-west cross ventilation
3. thermal solar panels heat water
4. shared rainwater collection system
5. photovoltaic panels
6. vegetation blocks lower level from sun
7. ground source heating/cooling system
eco village
location: florence, italy
type: academic individual project
year: 2016