HOW A SHOPPING ARCADE BECOMES AN ECOSYSTEM
How can architecture be designed to actively support the climate – without replacing existing structures, but instead making sensible use of them?
This question has been on the mind of our colleague Philipp Eder throughout his bachelor’s thesis in architecture. When he’s not working with us on project support or tinkering with new features for SCALES, Philipp is actually studying architecture. And he runs marathons on the side, too. (We’ve no idea where he finds the time for that.)
The brief for his thesis
His approach
“Right next to the arcade, a building is due to be demolished – to make way for the new U5,” he explains. “So I asked myself: couldn’t we think about a demolition like this in a different way? Not just tearing it down – but deliberately transforming it into something new. Something that connects existing structures and opens up new levels.” His idea: to incorporate the underground tunnel into the design and link it underground with the shopping arcade. This creates a spatial structure that unites the underground, library, shopping arcade, nursery and cafés under a new, shared roof.
What has come of it?
A vertical biotope!
A building that breathes
“Actually, my idea was to retain as much of the original passageway as possible and simply install a delicate structure in the courtyard. Perhaps a small park, to make better use of the space and bring the courtyard to life. But that wouldn’t have worked due to the distances to the neighbouring buildings. Furthermore, there was a lack of connection to the passage, but also to the underground and the surrounding facilities such as the library and the nurseries above the passage. So, in response to that, I came up with something to bring all the facilities together.”
That is why Philipp first gave his model a good airing – in the truest sense of the word. In several places along the passage, he drills openings that run through all the storeys. This creates a direct connection between the underground at the very bottom and the various levels above – from the shops to the public facilities. In these vertical shafts, he places four curved supports shaped like an hourglass. They bear the free-form climate envelope that covers the entire structure, protecting the interior and regulating the climate within, regardless of the weather outside.
The principle behind it: the so-called chimney effect. It sounds like a physics lesson, but it’s actually quite simple. Warm air rises, cold air is drawn in from below – just like in a chimney, where hot air escapes and fresh air flows in. In summer, the envelope can also be opened – via flexible side slats that resemble gills. This allows the heat to escape upwards, whilst cooler air enters from below. And in winter? Then the flaps simply stay closed, and the heat stays inside.
Climate cover
A climate cover is a transparent cover, almost like a giant bell jar. It protects whatever is underneath from wind, rain or cold and ensures that it gets warmer inside, or that the temperature fluctuates less. Incidentally, it is used particularly often for greenhouses!
Climate in layers
Nature reimagined vertically
Why should urban greenery always lie flat on the ground? Philipp thought: if we’re going to think outside the box, let’s do it properly – and in his design, he simply let the plant life grow upwards. After all, there’s far more space there than in the original, small courtyard. The result is a vertical biotope spanning five levels – with different climate zones, temperatures and atmospheres. Right at the bottom, at underground level, cyclamen bloom alongside yews. The further up you go, the more lush it becomes: shrubs, ferns, palm trees. A bit like a stroll through different continents – right in the middle of the building.
And who knows? Perhaps even endangered plant species will find a new home here. Because what Philipp has designed is more than just a building: it is a part of the city that breathes with it. A living space intended for people just as much as for nature. And perhaps also a small hint at what our buildings might look like in the future – vibrant, diverse, inviting.
Underground meets wind turbine
Staying cool
Thanks to a water reservoir
Cold air corridors
Architecture that takes responsibility
Philipp’s design shows that architecture, when conceived intelligently and, above all, holistically, connects things that would otherwise run parallel to one another: technology and the environment, infrastructure and everyday life, the city and nature.
What began as a quiet shopping arcade becomes a living organism – a building project in which buildings, infrastructure, nature, energy and water work together rather than against one another.
And perhaps that is the most exciting idea of all: that good architecture does not have to reinvent everything. Instead, it simply requires looking closely – at what is there, at what it could become, and at how to bring the various elements into harmony with one another.
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