Regenerative Urban Space: A Box for Public Space Use

Abstract

The essay addresses the issues of centrality and reactivation of urban public spaces, illustrating the project 'multiplyCITY: container TOOLS.' The project is composed of a system of 'devices' that can be placed in urban or natural contexts and is capable of hosting multiple functions for citizens, even in total energy autonomy. The project was presented and mentioned in the competition 'Volumezero design competition: Unbox 2017: ReThinking Containers,' completed in 2018. It consists of a system of sheltered spaces, modular, and flexible for temporary use. The system is defined by the adoption of principles assumed as design criteria: sustainability, multifunctionality, flexibility, temporariness, and customizable use. Through the combination of guiding principles, the reuse of dismissed shipping containers and the industrialized installation method, it has been possible to propose a TOOL that could be used in policies and actions aimed at urban regeneration. The design proposal has a multifunctional nature and is able to enhance the open space, assuring fast execution times and costs containment during construction, management, and maintenance. This is achievable through the use of dismissed shipping containers, which are reusable and convertible over time through minimal and low-cost interventions, offering more lives to a highly durable object.

Integrating Health and Smartness—New Sustainable Paradigms for the Urban Environment: A Case Study in Lianshi Town (China)

“…Therefore, integrating healthy and smart elements within the specific urban context of the disused granary leads to some considerations since industrial area requalification may represent an extremely complicated process requiring the significant mobilization of resources. However, current urban policies strongly support preserving and reusing these residual buildings, open unbuilt areas, and urban public spaces to develop more high-quality, mixed-use, and high-density spaces [11,[58][59][60][61].…”

Symbiotic and Regenerative Sustainability Frameworks: Moving Towards Circular City Implementation

“…Three principle aims of the CE approach include reducing consumption of resources and production of waste, preserving natural resources and ecosystem services, and designing out negative environmental, social, and economic externalities (Williams, 2019). Likewise, the CE approach is closely tied to the 3Rs-reduce, reuse, and recycle (Ginelli et al, 2020a;Ginelli et al, 2020b). Some also consider a fourth "R" for recovery, to represent recovering materials and energy from waste (Kirchherr et al, 2017;Joensuu et al, 2020).…”

Feasibility study of an off-grid container unit for industrial construction

“…Design solutions based on the reuse and recycling of buildings tend to win proposals because they reduce costs and environmental impact [11].…”

“…Based on the presentation of ZEB definitions in the review by Kristiansen, et al [5] it was chosen to focus on ZEB rather than Net ZEB or near ZEB, since this definition is easier for the public to understand and assures that the goal is to rely fully on solar energy in operation. Recently, off-grid container buildings have also been suggested more frequently lately [11][12][13][14], due to the potential of self-sufficiency. Although grid connection would be more economical in most cities, off-grid solutions are welcomed because they strengthen the focus on energy efficiency and motivates users to pay more attention to their energy use.…”