BIODIVER-CITY sharing and spreading biodiversity in a city context
Contemporary societies are facing an important ecologic issue that concerns biodiversity loss, especially in an urban context. This master thesis investigates how we can use architecture and the city as an opportunity to enhance biodiversity.
BIODIVER-CITY explores the possibility to combine a shared-space for people and biodiversity to coexist together in a built environment. The project aims to propose a new (eco)system for nature in a dense urban context, that will be advantageous for biodiversity and human well being.
The project has been developed in Barcelona, Spain, since it is a good example of an European dense city disconnected from its environment even with a great potential of natural features as Colserolla mountain range, the Mediterranean sea and two rivers, Besos and Llobregat.
The process to develop this project was to analyse precisely the biodiversity and urbanization features in the city in order to define tools that could be implemented in the design, taking in consideration the local fauna and flora and the human needs and their interdependencies.
In order to preserve and enhance the biodiversity in the city, the project is developed at three different but interconnected scales – regional , local and of the site. The regional analysis takes in consideration topography and water, biotopes and sytem of the infrastructures around Barcelona.
The proposal acts as a catalyst of a new sequenced system that spread biodiversity in the city through the existing green corridors.
The analysis brought to the choice of the site: a plot located close to the delta of the river Besós. This area is interesting because it is the conjuction of two important green corridors: the natural corridor of the river Besós and the artificial one of Meridiana. It is one of the most challenging spots, for the lack of fauna and vegetation caused by the bad quality of the water of the river.
The project is conceived as a pedagogical area in which human beings and biodiversity can live in harmony by sharing the same space. The target of the center (4 meters up to the river) is to create a connection between the city and the river Besós (0 meters on the level of the sea) for people and biodiversity, infact it is connected to the riverside by a slope that facilitate the movements of fauna and citizens.
Another target of BIODIVER-CITY is to be a catalyst for the autochthonous animals, infact to equilibrate the balance of biodiversity it is extremely important to enhance the local fauna and flora. In order to attract the original fauna autochthonous vegetations have been chosen to be planted in the park.
“Biodiver-city” proposes various programs, leaded by a pedagogic aim in order to teach people the importance of biodiversity. The program is a primary school, a teaching center, a restaurant and a park.
The project enables people to experiment a new way of living with nature in a city context, interacting with biodiversity trough its space design and materiality.
The buildings are composed of a brick wall envelope that creates nest habitats for birds, bats and butterflies. Moreover, it creates different openings that offer a good ventilation for the facades adapted to the Barcelona climate.
Inside the envelope, the different programs for people are hosted in buildings made of biological concrete. This material is composed of porous layers that give the opportunity to lychens to grow, enhancing in this way the biodiversity.
The Master Thesis has been a tool to investigte how architecture can interact with biodiversity in a city context. Since nature has an unpredictable way of developing it is almost impossible to conceive plans for the future. Nevertheless, using BIODIVER-CITY as an example of a shared space, the city could develop the strategy in other spots of the city, increasing the connections of flora and fauna all around the metropoly. The idea is that many shared-spaces could be implemented in the city, as several green sequences along the years. It could, in this way, create new biotopes and green corridors all over the city, giving the opportunity to enhance biodiversity in a dense urban context.
