Groundfloor & 2nd floor plan
Isle Of Nature
MSc in Architecture | KU Leuven | Semester II Collaborative project developed with Ahlem Rebai, Dagna Kołodyńska, Linde Van Bleyenbergh & Rafeh Abbasi | Climate Design | Guidance: Ignaas Back & Lies Van der Straeten It is year 2018 and the built environment carbon footprint is bigger than ever. We are at the point where ‘zero impact’ building design is not enough. That is why, with 2030 in mind, we have designed a positive impact building complex. The new design proposal not only is self-sufficient in energy production and water management, but it also gives back to the city. The complex consists of: new living spaces for the growing urban population; market with local, urban farming; restaurant, serving dishes prepared from second-choice and close to expiry date products collected from supermarkets around Ghent; multipurpose, shared community office spaces; as well as mushroom and chicory farm, growing on coffee waste gathered from Ghent’s coffee places. Instead of destroying nature our mission is to enhance it. We have designed new, green spaces. Introduced food production in the urban environment through aquaponics and greenhouse, creating a healthy micro-climate. We used trees for shading lower parts of the building, ivy plants to clean the air pollution, created late-season nectar source, and winter lifeline for wildlife. The courtyard design is natural, succession-based prairie garden, supporting creation of a new habitat for animals and insects. The complex is also collecting rainwater from the rooftops, as well as filtering and reusing it for mushroom and chicory production. For the car-free future we have designed 200 bike parking spaces and electric bike charging points. The flexible CLT grid structure will enable future generations to rearrange and reuse it according to their needs.