COLUMBUS, Ind. — It seems only fitting that the Exhibit Columbus symposium, which has highlighted some of the finest architects worldwide, ultimately would allow one of the more creative design teammates a day in the sun: Mother Nature.
That more natural focus was a part of the second Columbus Conversation Thursday on “Resiliency and Climate Adaptation” in the symposium’s series “New Middles: From Main Street to Megalopolis — What is the Future of the Middle City.” The presentation was livestreamed on the organization’s Facebook page and its YouTube.com channel. And the taped event will remain there for some time.
Exhibit Columbus is an exploration of architecture, art, design, and community that highlights the city’s Modernist design legacy.
Exhibit Columbus 2021 Miller Prize recipients Belinda Tato and Jose Luis Vallejo of the design firm Ecosistema Urbano, based in Hollywood, Florida, and Madrid, Spain, spoke about several of their projects, done all over the globe, so closely tied in with nature and the surrounding environment.
“I’ve loved their work for many years,” said event moderator Janice Shimizu, Exhibit Columbus’ associate curator. She praised their designs for “remembering the importance of play, and for their beautiful sites and structures.”
One of the duo’s most-publicized efforts, called Eco-Boulevard in Madrid, is an urban recycling operation that naturally cools surrounding air by 10 degrees and circulates it in an area marked by a concrete streetscape. The work includes three huge “air trees” — large ecological, community pavilions ideal for social activities, playgrounds, and such. It creates relief from seasonal heat, and has created innovation mixing an agricultural and urban balance.
Plus, in photos, people are seen sitting underneath the air trees watching events — a significant development since the area previously was considered mostly unused. In other shots, cooling water sprays out the bottom of the air trees.
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
