[Luca Peralta, Alessandra Centrone] A green heart

A green heart

Luca Peralta, Alessandra Centrone, Italy 3ti Engineering Integrated Projects

Campobasso (CB), Italy

 

introduction. Our project proposal aimed at upgrading the Provincial Library P. Albino Campobasso, is an objective not only the extension and resolution of critical point of the existing library system, but especially the reorganization of the whole plant architecture in a coherent a functional point of view and aesthetic and the creation of a strong "land-mark" with potential to fly for the immediate urban regeneration. The project involves the construction of a real cultural center marked by two buildings, one for Media and offices and the other intended to Library and Auditorium. The two buildings, similar to the two "stacks" of books, define the outdoor space with trees, renovated and made accessible from both Via Garibaldi Via Amato, becomes the fulcrum around which revolves the entire composition of the project, distribution function, the study of energy.

Brief description of operations, phased implementation and continuity of service. In order to minimize the impact and interference of work with the activity of the library project has been designed from the very first sketches to be done in stages and to ensure continuity of service during the work. Are expected in particular macro-3:

Step 1. Phase 1 includes demolition of the building which now houses a conference hall and the foyer. It also included the demolition of the "arm" of the latter's connection with the building for offices and a library until now structural. The existing foyer of the conference room as well as having a clear picture resigned underpowered and lacking in areas of service. The hall from the very irregular shape looks very flexible and does not meet the specific regulations. Its demolition, about 550 square meters, allows the creation of a new building of about 1,600 sqm spread over 4 levels: a basement devoted to the preservation of library material, a double height ground floor devoted to a Conference Room and related services, and two levels above ground to the Library. During demolition and construction of the new building, the Library will continue its activities: the site does not interfere with access from Via Garibaldi of the building that will be retained.

 

Step 2. Completed the new building will be possible to move the library and to begin the restructuring of the existing building without interrupting the service. The second phase includes the upgrading of the interior spaces of the existing building in order to make them functional to the intended use of Media and offices. It provides in particular for the improvement of sanitation, a rationalization of escape routes, the creation of trails accessible to all including the disabled. It also provides for the arrangement of open space with trees and the demolition and reconstruction of the glass front of the existing building on the south-east so that it is directly accessible from the front plaza and create a direct relationship with the arrival of the new building. During the implementation of the square is also the cantierizzazione 9 probes that, by exploiting the principles of geothermal together with photovoltaic panels located in the new implementation will help to make the complex self energy.

 

Step 3. In the third and final phase includes the demolition dell'ingombrante access ramp to the foyer of the existing building. This may allow access from Via Garibaldi to the square built in the previous phase, as a true outdoor foyer, anticipates the entrance to the Library and the Media. During the third phase would extend to the floors below a body of existing scale, which ensures the direct communication of the main levels, and streamlines the flow of vertical. Finally, it provides for the coating of the external surfaces of the existing building to an insulator with Media "a coat" and a skin of copper perforated metal which, in addition to increasing the insulation and reduce heat, is also motivated by reasons and architectural aesthetic to make a character of uniformity of language intervention.

 

The program functional and architectural quality of the project in reference to the contents of the PPE.

 

The new Piazza. The demolition dell'ingombrante ramp allows access to the library to release the path for it is directly accessible from Via Garibaldi, the charming area with trees overhead. This area, also accessible from Via D'Amato through a wide staircase urban leave penetrate the urban streams, until it assumed a new role, that of the protagonist of the scene the immediate urban context. Becomes square as a place to create a central point of orientation for the entire area, meeting place for people inhabiting the district or not. The presence of the main entrance of the Library and Media and strategic position of the area of transit and pedestrian link between downtown and historic residential areas of recent development permit its activation to the different hours of the day and evening with a variety of people from different age groups. The square paved in stone mounted dry provides ample seating and nightly shows evocatively lit by the light from the windows of the Library and Media and spotlights mounted under trees and under the benches.

 

The Media. The media will be accessible From the glass front overlooking the square and placed at +5.90 m. To invite readers to come in near the entrance are the spaces of the cafeteria and dell'emeroteca with a reading at the table and informal sessions. This will make it possible to read a newspaper while drinking coffee and looking through the large windows, people can finally have the outdoor space with trees retrained. Dall'emeroteca through a wide open to new construction or through the elevator, it can be accessed at the level below where they were positioned at the table places video, multimedia, fonopostazioni on the table and informal meetings, exhibitions of CDs and DVDs, audio video laboratories and generally areas for infrastructure. On the same floor there are two broad areas for filing by the "compact", a publicly accessible and the other staff of dedicated service to the equipment being of particular merit and value, and special collections. Overall, the two floors of the Media have a capacity of about 2500 ml of shelving shelves between open and closed shelving systems "compact". Below the media, in direct communication with the outside world, is now partly a local charge to local storage facilities and that in order to respond to the growth of the material to be retained, you can expect to clean up and reorganize through system with compact a capacity greater than 1500 ml of shelving. The study of the environment, made on the basis of drawings provided by the auctioneer, has an indicative value as it has not had access to the spaces to make an accurate relief.

 

Offices. From the main square of the Media you have access to the two upper floors devoted entirely to offices for the management of the entire Library and Media. These spaces are also available in an autonomous way by a scale located on the north-west of the property. You have chosen to place the offices in these plans for reasons related all'ottimale natural lighting.

 

The Library. Still from the square, through a glass wall, gives access to the spaces dedicated to the library. A great bar in a privileged position receives, directs and invites the public to receive information on local areas, information on the community, the documentary offers open-shelf and so on. Users tiny, children between 0 and 5 years, can be entertained in Ludoteca personnel. The large full-height space, with natural lighting zenith, invites the public to visit the upper floor where, in a large open space with natural light conditions optimal, are distributed to area children aged 6 to 12 years and 13 to 18 years, offering documentary-shelf open and closed shelving for rare documents, areas for reading at the table and informal meetings, video terminals for searches from the catalog and so on. The spaces of the library have a combined capacity of more than 1250 ml of shelving, the value obtained without generating a maximum capacity of the container space for the benefit of the quality of the environment and their comfort. Most of the collections can be found in a basement below, set at -3.55, organized predominantly compact system with 8 shelves and a capacity of more than 4100 ml of shelving. The basement, accessible directly from the library with elevators and stairs, is carefully designed to meet all the requirements of fire regulations. The plan deposit, in addition to the area organized a compact, includes one shelf with a traditional debit processing documents and in direct connection with the area of loading / unloading on the southern front, the share -0.58.

 

The auditorium. On the ground floor, directly accessible from the front Via D'amato, lies the entrance to the Auditorium foyer with attached services. The foyer can also be used as exhibition space, anticipates access to a large hall for 160 seats divided by acoustic sliding walls in two rooms each for 75 and 50 seats. The auditorium, returning in the regulation of public entertainment may not have communication with the activities of the Library (activity 90), which was designed as accessible and usable independently. In the subsequent project phases is possible, through the exemption, requiring the reporting of two activities with a filter to test the smoke and make the changes without disrupting the architectural design.

 

Environmental sustainability: Passive systems. The search for development strategies compatible with the economic and environmental sustainability requires the use of systems that are largely self-sufficient and at the same time do not cause excessive operational complexity. In an ideal world mechanical equipment should work as a support for efficient natural systems rather than as an alternative to them. The shape and orientation of the have a very important role in defining the internal environment and the necessity or otherwise of an intervention effect on energy to maintain comfortable conditions. For this reason, at this preliminary stage has been studied the orientation of the openings of the building and giving the general autoschermatura. In order to facilitate the isolation and elimination of thermal bridges have been carefully designed materials and construction details: the openings are characterized by high-insulation windows and glass-bottom chamber Emissive. The cladding of external walls are concrete elements, entirely coated with insulation of 10 cm on the outside and perforated metal panels. These panels are copper plate with the holes positioned properly oriented to facilitate the screening and ventilation of the wall. The decision to take the existing building with a metal skin is not only due to reasons of esthetical, then in order to make consistent the architectural language of the two buildings, but also by type of energy choices. The existing building, being built entirely of reinforced concrete face to view, it appears to have considerable heat, while the application dell'isolante by 10cm and the new metal skin allows a significant increase in performance and elimination of thermal bridges. The large double-height space of the Library, with a skylight with adjustable strip shielding, in addition to ensuring optimal natural lighting zenithal favors expelling hot air (chimney effect) during the summer and the natural heating during the winter months.

 

Environmental sustainability: Active. The design of all facilities is based on environmentally sustainable and respect the environment, in accordance with the requirements under the Kyoto Protocol. This is guaranteed in practice from the architectural design and structural design of the complex of distinctive character "passive" for purposes of saving energy, to move continuously to the choice of renewable energy as "active" for geothermal energy minimization consumption and photovoltaics to generate energy necessary. These are the "driving forces" that make the complex self-sufficient in terms of energy requirements: an impact to zero. The design of the work focuses on the court as the center of the complex: the climate (70-80% of energy needs) is provided by a geothermal system integrated, it should say, "rooted" own tree in the square, where the probes are placed to ensure the vertical input of energy "free" from the soil to a facility of about 60 kW (heat) consists of heat pumps that feed a system of radiating surfaces and air in the two primary buildings and provide domestic hot water. The equipment will be housed in local technicians in the two buildings, which will remain independent of each other to maximize the yield and management. The systems described are fed only the electricity produced by photovoltaic hosted by the new building, which ensures a continuous supply of electricity "clean." In summary, the strength of the project is to minimize cumulative consumption to define concretely a unit for "zero impact": - optimization of passive systems (eg, building envelope) to minimize those assets - geothermal optimal solution to minimize the need for electricity - electricity production from renewable source (eg photovoltaics).

 

The square tree with geothermal probes, a "green heart" Among the existing building and what needs to be expanded there is a garden, where there are trees of great natural value, to which the project aims to give a role to centrality. Here are the installed heat sensors that are responsible for exploiting the heat of the earth, which is a renewable energy and "clean", to transform it into usable energy for air conditioning in summer and winter the entire complex. In fact, starting from 20 m depth of the subsurface temperature is constant and does not depend dall'escursione more heat that occurs on the surface. The vertical geothermal probes (SGV) is a polymer pipes that are crossed by a fluid that is designed to exchange heat with the surrounding terrain, and the tubes of the probes are connected to the surface to a collector in turn connected to a pump geothermal heat. The circulating liquid absorbs the SGV (and sells) in heat from the soil depth, ensures a constant temperature throughout the year compared to the surface. This heat, by means of SGV, is transported to the heat pump, through which you can use it to heat or cool the rooms of the complex. Through past studies on the geology of Campobasso, it could be established in which land is exchanged heat with the probes, for their characteristics and logistical needs dictated by the limited space of the courtyard, it was decided to implement 9 vertical geothermal probes 125 m depth each, whereas geothermal immaterial to the first meters of land fill. The vertical geothermal probes are inserted into the ground in continuity with the vegetation and trees that are located on the surface.

 

The photovoltaic system. All machines designed to meet the energy needs of buildings, consisting almost exclusively in that heat pumps require electricity, and developed high efficiency means that consumption during operation of the structure are reduced compared to those of a plant Traditional, which uses fossil fuels or electricity only. The photovoltaic system was designed to be able to meet this demand for electricity by all the system installation, on estimated annual electrical needs. With the installation of photovoltaic systems is expected to benefit from the fact "Contoenergia" means permanently connected photovoltaic installations to the electricity grid. The exchange mechanism in place to work a balance between the annual electricity fed into the network and electricity from the same take-up: on the basis of the balance is done the calculation and payment of the inducement. In line with the rest of the project were chosen from the modules that are fully integrated structure and which had a high yield, to be able to produce during the entire period of the day, which is the timeframe in which the library, media and the rest of the complex are attended. In periods with poor weather conditions, the plant will be powered by the network, which is connected in parallel and then replace that in emergency situations. The photovoltaic panels are placed horizontally on the roof of the new, so as to be integrated with the structure from an architectural point of view. Walk-over and checked the load of snow, they have a minimum slope to allow drainage of rain water and are positioned so as to leave, to the surface of the roof, a layer of air for ventilation. Usually the modules are positioned at an angle from the horizontal of about 30 °, in order to maximize their average annual manufacturability, but in this case it is estimated that, for the same area, during the year there will higher returns by placing the panels in a horizontal position, since it is installed and more, eliminating the space required to avoid mutual shading. In the plant, it is estimated that with about 250 square meters of photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of the building, for an installed capacity of about 35 kW, are produced in one year 45,000 kWh electric. Since the electricity needs of the air conditioning system in one year amounted to 35,300 kWh, the photovoltaic system feeds in addition to air conditioning system, all other users of the library and the Auditorium. The complex is therefore completely independent of energy.

Design

 

* Luca Peralta Parent

* Alessandra Centrone, Designer

* 3ti Integrated Engineering Projects Italia, Designer