Frontal view

The agroecological pavilion - an urban farm - proposed in this work, seeks to explore the ways of protected agricultural cultivation, all guided by the precepts of agroecology and technology applied in agriculture, promoting sustainable productive ecosystems, with maximum preservation of natural resources and minimal dependence on external energies and agrochemical substances. The production will be destined for the trade of products and low-cost by-products at fairs, subscription sales or harvest-pay system, sectors responsible for the economic viability of the whole, thus being an institution of business innovation. Only the product that is already intended for something or someone is harvested. What remains or passes from the harvest season goes to the compost plants and/or to a biodigestor, which will produce energy to maintain the building, with waste on the brink of zero. The proposal is that the farm count with the participation of the community, occupying jobs, enjoying workshops in agriculture, cooking, compostage and food and nutritional education, in order to teach the population - especially the most vulnerable portion - to produce food in their communities, to prepare nutritious meals and with full enjoyment of food and also develop a professional vocation in these areas, seeking the integration of these people through inclusion, employability and information focused on promoting means to ensure access and better quality of food. In addition, the farm will allocate spaces for research in technology related to agriculture and the community will be able to participate in pedagogical visits to get to know the production and have contact with fresh products, seeking to resignify the relationship of society with food.

Concept Diagrams

In order to make the project relevant to the location in which it is placed as well as to the program and problem to which it seeks to react, the building's design is based on the premise of establishing the pavilion type. In order to have protected agricultural structures in urban surroundings, the project aims to investigate what architectural features—in terms of materiality, form, and strategies—are required. The pavilion will display a variety of protected crops grown using hydroponic, aquaponic, and aeroponic techniques, as well as more conventional soil-based farming methods. It will explore the most environmentally friendly methods of using these techniques by fusing architectural and agronomic technologies. Further, a pedagogical route by means of external ramps to the building is created to promote a route for a journey guided with pedagogical purposes that are attractive to the external public, seeking to narrow down as relations of production and consumption, in addition to presenting as productive activities of minor impact of the farm for a society and inviting to participate in the community in offices of agriculture, compostage, and professionalization in the area.

A productive ecossystem

Considering the temperate subtropical climate that covers the project implementation region, in the city of Porto Alegre in the south of Brazil, strategies for environmental comfort have been adopted in a passive manner, not only for users, but to ensure the good efficiency of the internal and external cultivation areas to the project. During the warmer days, natural cross-ventilation and removal of hot air by fireplace effect are used through the ventilated boards and also high flags in the squads. During this period, mobile polycarbonate panels are used to control the desired direct sun incidence and filter the excess UV rays, and the gap between the double facade is completely free for air circulation. Already during the winter, usually strict in the area of implementation of the project, the facade functions as a trombus system on the northern and eastern sides, where the polycarbonate panels remain closed and the ends of the gap between the double facade close, forming a layer of unventilated air that captures and accumulates energy from solar radiation, passively transmitting heated air to the building, and can have the constant exchange of cold air for hot air. In addition, the lighthouse ventilation is closed to preserve the temperature, while the glass planes receive extensive natural, direct and indirect lighting. The entire building is designed to function as a productive ecosystem, which seeks to renew natural resources rather than exploit them.

Structure

The structural design of the project is given by the choice of the independent systems in engineered wood (MLC and CLT) seeking a relevant response, both for the formal and typological proposal, while at the same time being compatible with the intention of low environmental impact of the building and its function. Wood is carbon-neutral in terms of emissions to the atmosphere, as well as being renewable and mitigating the generation of waste at work by being a high-precision industrialized system. In this way, it was possible to work with modular streamlining and coordination every 1.20m throughout the project, compiling the structure with complementary components and using apparent installations, significantly reducing losses and cuts.