Vincent Callebaut

Vincent Callebaut (b. May 27, 1977 - ) is a Belgian ecological architect. He designs futuristic-like ecodistrict projects which take account of several aspects of sustainability (renewable energies, biodiversity, urban agriculture).

Vincent Callebaut
Born	May 27, 1977 La Louvière  Belgium
Nationality	Belgian
Alma mater	Université libre de Bruxelles
Occupation	Architect
Awards	Prix Godecharle (2001), International Architecture Awards (2014)
Buildings	Agora Garden Taipei
Projects	Dragonfly, Lilypad, King Forest

Biography

Vincent Callebaut was born in 1977 in Belgium. He graduated in 2000 from the Institute Victor Horta, he moved to Paris to intern with architects Odile Decq and Massimiliano Fuksas and then founded his own company, « Vincent Callebaut Architectures ».

Virtual projects

Dragonfly

The project consists on implementing "vertical farms" in Manhattan along the East River at the South edge of the Roosevelt Island. In a way to rethink the city's food production and encourage each inhabitant to participate to the gardens, one of the visions of the Dragonfly project was defined as: 'Eating an apple just picked out of a collective orchard in the fourth floor while looking at New York through the window and then go back to your office just in the upper floor.'[1] This project was inspired by the Japanese movie "Laputa : Castle in the sky".[2]

The Dragonfly building is 575 metres (1,886 ft) high, shaped as firefly wings. It is composed of two towers related to a 'bio-climatic' glasshouse. It deploys itself between two crystalline wings made out of glass and steel. The structure in the honeycomb stitch allows the sunlight to pass through the building.[3] This concept is seen as a feeder farm and reconnects the consumers with producers. This prototype of the urban farm would have superimposed 132 floors and extending 600 metres (2,000 ft) vertically with garden vegetables, fields, production of meat, milk, poultry, and eggs where people could grow their own food. The Dragonfly can accommodate 28 different agricultural fields for production. It is self-sufficient in energy, water, and bio-fertilizing, powered by sun shield and eolian systems. These combine solar and wind power, which would make the Dragonfly self-sufficient.[4] Everything is recyclable in a continuous auto-feeding so that nothing is lost. The spaces between the wings are designed to take advantage of solar energy by accumulating warm air in the structure during winter. During the summer it is cooling which is facilitated through natural ventilation and "evapo-perspiration" from the plants.[4]

The objectives of the Dragonfly project were defined as:

• Creating proximity between the inhabitants and their productions.
• Reducing intermediaries in the production model.
• Getting close to self-sufficiency which leads to financial savings.[3]

Lilypad

The Lilypad or Floating ecopolis project is based on the idea of creating a place for future refugees of Current sea level rise caused by Global warming.

Build or under construction

Tao Zhu Yin Yuan

Formerly called "Agora Garden", Vincent Callebaut designed a tower for Taipei, promoting vertical construction in an overpopulated city.[5] It is a concept of eco-construction to reduce the carbon footprint of its inhabitants.[6]

Vincent Callebaut Architectures SARL replied to an invitation to tender in November 2010. As of 2014, the project is under construction, and it was completed in 2018.[1]

The shape of the building looks like a molecule of DNA with its double helix (but in the opposite chirality of most common (known) B-form DNA). This was designed to represent a symbol of life and dynamism.[5] The surface area is about 50,000 square metres (540,000 sq ft).

The aim of the project is to represent a perfect symbiosis between humans and nature. Vincent Callebaut aims to develop an avant-gardist architecture and tries to institute a new lifestyle in harmony with nature. The building is intended to guarantee environmental norms in order to obtain the Green Building Label delivered by the Home Affairs Ministry of Taipei.

The project addresses four ecologic objectives of the Copenhagen Accord:[6]

• Reduction of global warming
• Protection of biodiversity.
• Protection of the environment and quality of life
• Management natural resources and waste

The Agora Garden concept embraces the Cradle to Cradle philosophy: "nothing is lost and everything transforms itself" (Antoine Lavoisier). All materials are recycled or recyclable in order to imitate the processes of natural ecosystems. For example, at the top, there is a huge free access garden covered by photovoltaic panels that produce electricity for the building. The tower is surrounding by 20-metre (66 ft) trees which increase the biodiversity in the city.[6]

Agora Garden was planned as twenty levels in a double helix formation, with a total twist from bottom to the top of ninety degrees. The twist satisfies four major objectives. Firstly, thanks to this architecture, the morphology of the building change according to its orientation: On the East/West side we can see a rhomboidal pyramid, when on the North/Southside we can see a reverse pyramid. Then, all flats have their own balconies looking like a hanging garden. Thirdly, there is no vis-à-vis so inhabitants have privacy and a panoramic view of Taipei.[5]

The six main components of the project are :

• The forestair: the building is bordered by a forest which ensures the privacy of the inhabitants. The light is over present and the car parks, the swimming pool, and the fitness area are naturally ventilated.
• Indoor and outdoor areas are well-connected thanks to all the bay windows.
• The central core is composed of two staircases, four high-speed elevators, a car elevator, and two sky garages.
• The apartments measure 650 square metres (7,000 sq ft). This could seem large for European people but in Taiwan, it is not uncommon for large families of three generations to live together in one flat.
• The landscape balconies project is to build gardens which cover the entire building and in this way reintroduce an element of nature to the city. Inhabitants can cultivate fruits, vegetables, and herbs so that they could be self-sufficient. Therefore, these gardens take part in the sustainability process. There are compost spaces to transform waste into organic fertilizers, and reservoirs to collect rainwater.
• At a height of 100 metres (330 ft), a 1,000 square metres (11,000 sq ft) pergola with photovoltaic covering generates electricity for the network of the building.

The Gate

The Gate Heliopolis is under construction in Cairo (Egypt). It is a multi-use complex of 450 000 m2 with housing, workspaces, and facilities like sports. The rooftop is a garden where you can swim or run and hide.

References

1. "culturebox". culturebox.francetvinfo.fr. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
2. "Dragonfly". france-amerique.com. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
3. "Dragonfly". Architecture Urbanisme. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
4. "Inhabitat". inhabitat.com. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
5. "France inter". franceinter.fr. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
6. "Dezeen". dezeen.com. Retrieved 2 December 2014.