agorà solari MIL | Milano - Italy
a biomimetic approach to urban regeneration
BArch 2009-2011 | Biomimetics
a biomimetic approach to urban regeneration
BArch 2009-2011 | Biomimetics
Agora Solari is an investigation project based in the city of Milan, around the Naviglii area. The experimental project follows from the thesis project in the fifth year of the degree, investigating the potentials of biomimetics in urban regeneration of modern, fast moving cities. Utilising all the information from the test project Mayfield Manchester, the theory was further developed in Agora Solari. It was an attempt to prove that if a theory is tested over and over again; information and knowledge build up, effectively creating a strong standpoint for future urban regeneration schemes.
Visiting Milan one is impressed by the dense urban fabric; the solid Milanese architectural topography. Wandering around the city you come across areas that have ceased to adapt to the fast rhythms of a modern city. Such an area has been used to test the theory of biomimetic urban regeneration. By characterizing the area as a biological system, composed of smaller units synergistically working together, and finding similarities with identical ecosystems in Nature,the project evolved as if it were a seedling attempting to survive in an established forest.
The project grows in direct response to its physical and environmental surroundings, and is only specific to its exact location. It aims to create local architecture, for local people, using systems of operation that are familiar to the occupants. The purpose of the Agora complex is to create a connection between the South Agricultural Park and theCity of Milan, by extending the network system of the agricultural areas and the capital of fashion and industry, interweaving these networks and boosting their activities, effectively creating symbiotic relationships. This symbiosis will, in time, be beneficial to both parts of the system and create a co-dependent state where one cannot be without the other.
Visiting Milan one is impressed by the dense urban fabric; the solid Milanese architectural topography. Wandering around the city you come across areas that have ceased to adapt to the fast rhythms of a modern city. Such an area has been used to test the theory of biomimetic urban regeneration. By characterizing the area as a biological system, composed of smaller units synergistically working together, and finding similarities with identical ecosystems in Nature,the project evolved as if it were a seedling attempting to survive in an established forest.
The project grows in direct response to its physical and environmental surroundings, and is only specific to its exact location. It aims to create local architecture, for local people, using systems of operation that are familiar to the occupants. The purpose of the Agora complex is to create a connection between the South Agricultural Park and theCity of Milan, by extending the network system of the agricultural areas and the capital of fashion and industry, interweaving these networks and boosting their activities, effectively creating symbiotic relationships. This symbiosis will, in time, be beneficial to both parts of the system and create a co-dependent state where one cannot be without the other.
south view - north facing facades
west view - east facing facades
north view - south facing facades
east view - west facing facades
