O A X I S: a project inspired by the sun and the desert Oasis formations. The project as a new link between the desert, renewable energies and water-saving hydroponic agriculture in direct connection to the Arabian Peninsula nearby cities.
The main concept of the pavillion is to create two different spaces. One for the exhibition and another one for a big greenhouse. They are connected to allow people to walk in a unique single space. The greenhouse is the place where people can pick up and eat food directly from the hortus.
The Eco-Aquaponic House was designed as a public exhibit for a botanical garden to illustrate the potentials of growing fish and plants together in an eco-friendly and symbiotic way. This process called Aquaponic Gardening, merges fish and plants together. Waste deposited by the fish is cycled through the roots of the plants as a fertilizer. The plants filter the water and it is returned to the fish to cycle again and again. My Eco-Aquaponic House is basically a machine designed to facilitate this process in a very energy efficient and eco-friendly way.
The new pavilion at the botanical garden at Grueningen relates strongly to its context. The design was inspired by the surrounding forest, not the built environment. Both the formal vocabulary and the structural concept derive from nature. The pavilion is conceived to harmonize with and expand the forest.
Conceived as a precious crystal, semi-submerged in splendid isolation, reached by boat across the lake followed by a short walk from the shore, the greenhouse for the Xi’an Horticultural Expo blends into the hillside. Visitors access the building through a prolonged cut, literally scooped up from the ground, emerging into a light-filled reception space. From here the visitor passes along a tessellated mesh of paths to three different climatic zones with corresponding plant environments.