Augmented Atmospheres at the Biennale

The vision for the Zaryadye Park in the heart of Moscow right next to the Kremlin is the subject of our contribution to this year’s Architectural Biennale in Venice.

As part of the collateral event Moscva: Urban Space, curated by chief urban planner Sergey Kusznetsov and commissioned by RDI, a representation of the park has been developed together with Diller, Scofidio + Refro from New York City, who is leading the winning international team of the competition in Moscow.

Augmented Atmospheres is located in a venetian courtyard, where visitors find a quiet space with different experiences of thermal comfort. Shaded areas, exposure to the sun and redirected sunbeams and a breeze induced by the courtyard’s micro climate offer retreat from the hot and humid climate in Venice.

The concept of a passively altered environment is as old and fundamental as the history of architecture. In addition to passive concepts, some mild active strategies can be experienced, when sitting on conditioned – warm and cold - benches or feeling the radiative cooling effect of activated walls. These bionic concrete elements have been developed in collaboration with the Rieder Group for an array of different applications, such as solar thermal collectors, active insulation and, as in this case, for radiative cooling. In Zaryadye park, these effects may be driven using with solar power generated in a roof canopy employing a heat pump, allowing for hot and cold moments, without consuming fossil fuels.

The infrared image below visualize the radiation emitted by the environment and people, cold surfaces appear dark, while warm surfaces tend to be red and yellow.

For more information on the collateral event visit:http://moskvaproject.com/en/

Augmented Atmospheres has been made possible through kind donation of concrete bionics from Wolfgang Rieder and the Rieder Group.

Redirection of solar beams and the sun-tracking Heliostat has been kindly donated by EGIS.

Original article