Redesigning Green Villages Zambana,

MIT Mobile Experience Lab

MIT Design Laboratory A collaborative project between the Agenzia per lo Sviluppo di (now Sviluppo), the Provincia di Trento, Italy, and the MIT Mobile Experience Lab, part of the MIT Design Laboratory. Research and concepts were developed within multidisciplinary workshops conducted in Fall 2006 and Spring 2007. Goal of the workshop

The main goal of the design workshop was to cre- Bioindicators Renovated Buildings atively redesign the village of Zambana, Italy, from Sensors an urban planning angle, as well as from an archi- Piazza Striated Landscape tectural and new-media design perspective. This exercise not only gave specific direction for the Recovered implementation of the project, but opened up a va- Waterways riety of ideas, scenarios, and concepts that need to Core and Shell be further explored. Construction

The proposed redesign of Zambana that this book documents is not primarily about retrofitting buildings or reducing pollution levels; although these are both included in our proposal, they are secon- dary to the larger goal of allowing the community to grow alongside Transportation its landscape, actively participating in its environment.

The final goal of this project is to creatively reimagine Zambana and Special Topics to give design directions to transform a village into an iconic green - Bionic indicators and sensors village of the twenty-first century. - Renovation of buildings - Striated landscape - Recovered waterways - Core and shell construction - Transportation Collaboration

The workshop has been done in the framework of a strate- gic partnership and collaboration between Trentino Sviluppo, the Provincia di Trento, Italy, and the Mobile Experience Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This collaboration concerns the research on sustainable devel- opment of cities and communities and exploring how to design technologies and societies in order to foster sustainable devel- opment at all levels. Sustainability

Extended definition of sustainability In keeping with Trento’s vision of the re- design, we came up with a definition of sustainability that expanded upon the conventional elements of environmental consciousness to fit the rural situation of Zambana.

The new definition is threefold:

1. Includes a close link between the past, present and future of the land 2. A deliberate interaction between per- sons and the environment 3. A conscientious consideration for local and regional vegetation, materials, com- merce and services.

This unique definition serves as the prem- ise for the objectives, proposal, implemen- tation and realization of our redesign. Methodology

The design workshop had two major pha- ses over the period of two academic se- mesters: a diverging and creative phase and a converging and design phase.

Diverge and Create Converge and Design The first phase consisted of assembling a The second phase consisted in recruiting variety of MIT and Harvard students and a smaller number of dedicated students researchers from various departments and researchers to focus on a final pro- and research fields. After recruiting and posal. selecting students, we began the design workshop by dividing students into mul- A multidisciplary team collaborated to: tidisciplinary teams. MIT Media Lab new media experts collaborated with urban a. Explore The class was composed of students and planners and designers; architects colla- b. Design faculty coming from various universities borated with visual artists; mechanical en- c. Present and parts of the world: gineers collaborated with business school Greece, Germany, Austria, United States, students. Israel, Argentina, Brazil, Korea, Columbia, Mexico, Italy, Chile, Australia and India. Each team worked on its own and then in collaboration with all the other teams. We asked to each team to:

a. Explore and investigate b. Create and imagine c. Present Field trip

We also had multiple missions in Italy: we explored the site, we interviewed the mayor, the architects, and the urban plan- ners involved in the project, and we wor- ked closely and constantly at all levels with the Trentino Sviluppo and the Provin- cia di Trento.

History of Zambana

The village of Zambana lies along the Adige who occupied the site immediately after mountain’s edge. A cable car gave direct River in the province of Trento in northern the ice age glaciers receded. The village access to the villages and ski trails above Italy, at the base of Mt. . clung to the mountain as a refuge from the and provided steady traffic through the seasonal flooding of the river valley, but village, which had grown in population The location of the village is historically sat uneasily under cliffs of brittle dolomite to 600. But disaster struck in November and geographically relevant. It lies at the fractured by natural spring water and tec- 1957 when a large part of the mountain fell base of Val Manara, the ancient trail which tonic activity. onto the valley above Zambana. leads from the flood plain to the mountain above. The valley is the product of a fault Throughout history, the Adige valley has line in the dolomite limestone, evidence of been witness to military and political a long geologic history. movements as it lies along the natural route from Austria to Italy. By the ear- This forested valley was an important ly 20th century, the village was thriving, hunting ground and source of wood for growing around the 16th century church the stone-age inhabitants of Zambana, with picturesque avenues leading to the Compounded by heavy rains, a landslide Only a small population remains in the ori- began, filling the town with material from ginal Zambana, supported by agriculture. the valley above. The government ordered The population of the ‘new’ Zambana has an evacuation of the village, which was to grown, primarily as a suburb of the nearby be rebuilt at a site 2 km away, on the other city of Trento. side of the Adige river.

The village was deemed unsafe for habita- tion by the government, and the majority of the buildings were leveled. A protective wall was formed around the few buildings remaining, with the exception of the 16th century church which now sits in a small park at the base of the mountain. Accessing Zambana

Currently, residents traveling to Trento drive by car to the outskirts and take a bus to the center. With the proposed plan, the public transportation would improve and hopefully eliminate the need for the automobile portion of the commute. Re- sidents could instead take the new alter- natives available to them, thus decreasing the pollution created from automobile ex- haust.

Reconnecting Zambana to the Region of Trento Keeping in mind our definition of sustainability, the cable car This transportation plan calls for a multi-modal point outside of would connect Zambana and Zambana Vecchia to improve the the village center where parking will be available and which will communication between the old and new villages. The cable car connect to the planned pedestrian, bicycle, bus, auto, boat and would have three stops: one at the train station of Zambana, one cable-car paths. The multi-modal station is intended as parking at the entry to the new Zambana, and the last in the village of for visitors, as well as residents. Paganella. The cable car would also provide a good connection between the regional rail and bus (from the inter-modal point). Zambana in the Region Local Access to the Pedestrian Village

Ideally, Zambana would be a pedestrian village, and the desi- gnated parking area could instead be used for shared electric or carpool vehicles. The multi-modal point will be the intersection of the automobile, walking, biking, bus, and boat traffic. From the multi-modal point there will be a strong pedestrian connec- tion to the piazza that can continue on up the mountain. In addi- tion, the cable car will connect the bus to the rail station. Striated Landscape

Urban Natural Landscape The preserved buildings will appear as Buildings having historical value will be sculptural pieces in the large green park restored and retrofitted with sustainable that is the proposed landscape. One way features, while the rest will be replaced to integrate these newer structures into with new, green structures. the existing landscape is to follow the vo- cabulary of an agricultural pattern.

By mimicking the patterns of a cultivated field in built forms, the urban fabric beco- mes an extension and exaggeration of the surrounding farmlands. Core and Shell

Core and Shell Constructions Inside the shell, the “core” inhabitable Between the core and shell, open spaces In the built areas, these foldings function apartments (protected from the elements could be used to accommodate vertical as part of a double skin structure. The up- by the shell) have greatly increased design micro-farming structures, possibly even per waves comprise an exterior shell that flexibility. Residents of each apartment vertical vineyards. This is in keeping with encloses interior, habitable spaces. The would have control over their own heating the culture of Zambana, where many inha- shell provides weather protection and on requirements to allow for the most effici- bitants currently have backyard gardens. one side uses a solar blind system that ent heating for different occupants, tailo- collects energy and shades the interior or red to their lifestyles. The intermediary space would be used to allows natural light to penetrate the shell. trap air to reduce the cost of heating and On the other side, the planted shell would cooling. In addition, the core-and-shell ar- be a literal extension of the agricultural chitecture saves energy by creating an air surroundings. space that helps to regulate interior tem- perature and ventilation. History as Architectural Narrative

Old waterways Existing Waterways New waterways Proposed Waterways

Waterways In keeping with the importance of local history in building a su- stainable village, we tracked the history of the waterways and roads in Zambana. Before the mudslide, the water ran through the village, whereas currently it is rerouted to the outskirts. The idea is to merge both: to maintain the existing paths and to bring the water into the village. Ultimately, the water in the village can be recovered for public display, hydropower, and as an audible reminder of the environment. Old roads Exisiting roads Proposed roads

Public Spaces, Roads Similarly, the proposed plan of the roads, piazza, and other pu- blic spaces is a combination of the old road map and the exi- sting layout. The village would be reconnected to the church by extending the old piazza. Since the mudslide, the only link between the two sides of the wall has been a small, dark tunnel, and the proposal strengthens that link by bridging the wall with a large, public space. By recovering the pathways of the village, this proposal renews the physical history of the village. Schematic Plan

Striated Landscape This new plan, comprised of both new and old elements, will then be applied to the form of the folded landscape. This over- laid plan, integrated with the continuous fabric, creates new ur- ban spaces slicing through the foldings which connect water sources, roads, and public spaces.

Piazza and promenade Axis and Approach In this scheme, the main axis is preserved as the main entrance to the village and the link to the river. Establishing this cen- tral axis highlights the two poles at either end: one at the entrance to Zambana that bridges the river and incorporates diffe- rent modes of transportation and one in the protective wall at the other end of the pedestrian village.

The wall will also serve as the main public space of the village, with a high vantage point (5.2 m) and a view over the rooftops of Zambana Vecchia, which will then be visually connected to the new Zambana across the river.

View of landscape from river approach, along main axis. Schematic Plan

Protective Wall as Promenade The wall will become a large, elevated promenade around the village. This area could also be used, in part, as a community information board detailing upcoming construction, providing basic information about the development of the village and re- vealing the principals of sustainability on which the renovation is based. Elevated Piazza Currently, the only passageway through the wall is a single, to go back to the mountain and the old Zambana. The proposal small tunnel through the protective wall, which blocks any view includes an exhibition space to memorialize the changes to the of the church from the village. The proposed promenade and village: a portion of the wall that will serve as a place of remem- piazza serves as a reconnection point for villagers. The piazza bering. This Memory Wall serves as a solemn transition space and the space below it allow for a more welcoming transition in which to gather the memories of the village and recount the between the current Zambana Vecchia and the village before the process of creating a sustainable town. mudslide. The proposed piazza will allow people to remember the act of establishing what is now Zambana, and allow them Schematic Plan

View of exhibition space inside memory wall View of memory wall from inside the village, looking towards the church.

Memory Wall ater. The falling water will be reused and a small disturbance in the texture of the The sounds and visibility of water will be channeled for irrigation throughout the water will be visible in the projected image. recovered in the village. To achieve this, village. This water wall will be used as a This communicates information about the water from the mountain will collect on the projection space for the Memory Wall. surrounding activity and creates a dyna- top of the piazza and cascade to create a mic curtain, through which the old and wall. This large, mirrored surface will pro- A media installation could be used to de- new Zambanas are visible in opposing di- ject the horizon of the sky and ground and tail the history of Zambana. In addition, rections. In this way, one is watching both enclose the space underneath the piazza, the piazza will be sensitive to vibrations, the history and the future of the area. framed on the other side by the amphithe- and with every step on the upper surface, Striated Landscape as Residential Development The restored buildings would be partially visible through the solar blind system of the shell in the new construction. Residential

Based on recommendations by local of- By increasing the perimeter of the resi- ficials, there has been an interest in in- dential block, the area of intervention as a creasing the population of Zambana to a fraction of the land used is decreased. The potential maximum of 1,500 to increase core-and-shell structures wind through a economic, cultural, and regional growth. portion of the landscape instead of across In order to accommodate new inhabi- the landscape, still following the direction tants, modular, residential structures of the agricultural patterns but bending in are stacked. In this way, the larger fami- order to achieve increased residential fle- ly apartments (located at the lower level) xibility and density, thus creating a shorter have more contact with patios and exte- overall footprint. rior spaces and the smaller apartments (located on top) have access to the shell in addition to views of Zambana.

This arrangement allows for flexibility in terms of both capacity and use of the in- terstitial spaces. That is to say, there is potential for apartments to expand into the spaces between the units or to turn them into community gardens, public are- as, or neighborhood terraces. Rammed Earth One of the proposed building materials for the core construction is rammed earth. It is particularly suitable because it reduces heating loss, uses local materials, and can The curved lines of residential buil- be used instead of carbon dioxide-emit- dings snake through and around the ting concrete. restored structures. There will be one main space that would remain flat in the middle of the village to accom- modate the intersection of the old and new constructions around the piazza. Around this, the urban natu- Rammed earth stable on road above Zambana ral landscape would begin. Energy

Energy systems play a key role in the sustainable performance of the village, as a part of the Pro- vince of Trento.

Alternative Energy With the recent focus on global warming and CO2 Analysis and Proposed Uses in Zambana emissions, the amount of fossil fuel consumption The unique situation in Zambana is that the electric supply is is increasingly important. primarily hydroelectric, a renewable supply. There is a possibility for large-scale wind farms to be installed in mountain passes, adding more renewable electricity to the local resources. The main remaining use of fossil fuels is for heating and transportati- on, in the form of natural gas, diesel, and gasoline.

The demand for these fuels can be reduced by two means: in- creased efficiency and offsetting with renewable fuels. Redu- cing the energy demand can be accomplished through the ar- chitecture of the village and an effective mass transit system. Offsetting fossil fuels will be accomplished through the use of electricity for inter-region transportation, and biomass for space heating. Solarblind and Windwall

Windwall Solar Blind System The solar blinds could be programmed to One source of renewable energy is wind The shell structure could contain multiple act like scales, tracking and following the power. One proposed application of this and varied types of vegetation and be ad- movement of the sun for maximum solar idea is through the construction of micro- aptable for different agricultural uses. The gain or opening to create a natural breeze turbines. Advantages of micro-turbines larger surfaces could have bio-indicative inside the shell. are that they can be used even at low material that provides information about speed and generate lower amounts of noi- the environment. These buildings could se and disturbance than full-size turbines. act as large-scale displays of the sustai- Additionally, they are inexpensive relative nable health of the village as a whole. In to the 18-30 meter high traditional wind this way, foldings become a three-dimen- turbines. sional landscape of alternating agricul- tural plots, energy collecting blinds, and bio-indicative vegetation. Mixed Energies System

Solar Power Proposed System Hydro Power The energy system proposed for Zam- Wind Power bana would utilize a mixture of forest bi- Biomass omass and municipal waste to supply electric, and space heating to the village. Alternative Energy Residential hot water would be supplied Most of the remaining use of fossil fuels is for heating and trans- by on demand electric appliances, redu- portation, in the form of natural gas, diesel, and gasoline. The cing storage losses. demand for these fuels can be reduced by two means: incre- ased efficiency and offsetting by use of renewable fuels. Re- The heating system of the village would be ducing the energy demand can be accomplished through the district-based with a central cogeneration architecture of the village and an effective mass transit system. station. Since the electric grid in Trentino Offsetting fossil fuels will be accomplished through the use of is already ‘green’ power, the excess elec- electricity for inter-region transportation, and biomass for space tricity could be used to offset liquid fuel heating. demand for transportation.

By powering the cable car, or charging electric cars, the regions dependence on petroleum based fuels would be reduced. The following schematic gives an idea of the layout of the system. Anaerobic Digestor This device converts human and food waste into methane gas by ‘digesting’ the waste in the absence of excess oxygen. These systems are in widespread use, though the system proposed for Zambana is on the small range of capacities. Methane pro- duced by the digester can be sent directly to the microturbine, producing electricity and heat.

Microturbine This device contains a very simple gas turbine linked to an elec- tric generator. The exhaust heat is recovered and can be used for greenhouses, biomass drying, or absorption cooling. This techno- logy is fairly mature, with many installations ongoing.

Biomass Gasifier, Internal Combustion Engine This combination of gasifier and internal combustion engine can satisfy the thermal demand of the village, while also generating electricity during the dark, dry winter season when hydro- and solar electricity are less abundant. Sensed Landscape

There is a strong interest in the idea of a sensed landscape. The question is really how much information can be gathered from all of the different natural processes happening throughout the villa- ge. Then, is it collected and used both in a holistic approach to land management and to promote person-to-land connections. It was important for this proposal to cre- ate interstitial, neutral spaces between the built forms, in addition to exploring a few natural features for the landscape of New Zambana.

One idea was to find ways to use the landscape to visualize natural processes. Our aim was to gather information on the entire landscape but also to identify each data collection site as a monitoring stati- on, which could be a specific experience for somebody walking through the village.

The landscape proposal consists of five interventions in distinct areas of the vil- lage, each one monitoring a specific ele- ment: siesmic listening stations, moss that measures air quality, biomass, water flowmeters, and trees that measure wind velocities. Mobile Applications

Mobile Services and Data Applications correlated, and could be used to create We propose to design interactive media to An integral part of the driving definition of other kinds of media experiences. foster connections between people, infor- sustainability for this project is the idea mation and places and to promote social that the state of nature should be visible Finally, once all the data about the state of sustainability. and explicit in the village. the landscape has been collected, there are endless information distribution pos- Visualizing information related to sustain- The landscape should communicate to sibilities. ability and energy consumption in the right the inhabitants information about their en- way, as well as social behavior and human vironment. In Zambana, plants will change The information display will give inhabitants impact in the village, can promote better re- colors, trees will rustle, and sensors on of Zambana a sense of the village’s state source management. the urban landscape will collect and moni- on both a large scale and a micro-environ- tor data and changes over time. mental level. This awareness will further strengthen the connections between the With monitoring stations distributed residents and their environment. around the village, data will be collected, Living Buildings, Programmable Agriculture and Environment Sensing

Microclimates and Living Buildings Programmable Agriculture Air Quality – Star Moss There are ways of promoting local culture Systems of sensors coupled with actua- In terms of air quality, we are interested and industry using the sensed space and tors will also be applied to the space bet- in monitoring CO2 emissions of the buil- data. For example, by tracking the state of ween the core and shell. Essentially, the dings, which is also an important element the natural systems on a fine level, the de- shell will act as a small greenhouse area of the LEED qualifications. gree of control over the properties of that in which fine control is exerted over nutri- land is exponentially increased. A sensor ents and water. Carbon dioxide generated For example, star moss, a plant, changes system combined with an actuation sy- by the village will be pulled into this space colors in a very dramatic way when CO2 stem could control the moisture, acidity, for use by the plants, and the solar blind levels are elevated. Rather than having to and pollutant levels of the soil. This, in system very precisely controls the amount have a very unattractive and expensive turn, would allow the cultivation of dispa- of sunlight that penetrates the core. The CO2 monitoring station, we could plant rate and particular species of a given crop exact measurements of these elements moss on the side of the building. side by side. could be precisely regulated to create op- timal growing conditions for the desired A simple sensor, such as a camera, could plants in the shell. convey the information electronically. Conclusion

To creatively imagine a green village, we used a multidisciplinary approach. We approached the question from an ecosystemic perspective, con- sidering the design of green villages from a diverse point of view; from the human being to the urban development, from the architectural perspective to the social memory, from the transportation to the local environment. Also, and even if not mentioned in this report, we have been working on the local and economical aspects for a sustainable develop- ment, as well as we performed research on learn- ing sustainability as a strategic way to leverage sustainable green villages development.

The strict collaboration with the Trentino Sviluppo and the Provincia di Trento helped us to properly frame the work and understand Trento, the local culture and the city of Zambana.

This work has established a framework that high- lights perspectives to consider for further investiga- tions.

Credits

MIT Mobile Experience Lab http://mobile.mit.edu

Principal Investigators Contact Federico Casalegno Federico Casalegno William J. Mitchell Director, MIT Mobile Experience Lab 238 Main Street, Suite 319 Fall 2006 workshop participants Cambridge, MA 02142 Dido Tsigaridi, Mirja Leinss, Dietmar USA Offenhuber, Giles Phillips, Maya Orbach, +1 (617) 324-2305 Ben Wood, Luciana Pereira, Tad Hirsch, [email protected] Eric Weber, Bill McKenna, JunSik Moon, Kenneth Cheung, Miguel Menchu, Durga Pandey In collaboration with Trentino Sviluppo http://www.agenziasviluppo.tn.it Spring 2007 workshop participants and Provincia di Trento, Italy Lauren Lynn, Sergio Araya, Crystal Law, http://www.provincia.tn.it Kelly Starman, Tad Hirsch, Eric Weber, Lizzie Krasner http://mobile.mit.edu The MIT Mobile Experience Lab takes a multidisciplinary approach at understanding people’s experiences using wireless communication technologies, while exploring how mobile media impact societies, communities and spaces. http://mobile.mit.edu