Contribution - Evangelios Tourtouras
Confront and stabilize an ecosystem threatened with collapse due to the impermeability of the soil in a specific area of the site thanks to an architecture that manipulates topographic and hygrometric phenomena by modifying the spatiality of the site throughout the year.
In a crescent-shaped area traced by the geometry of the old racetracks of the Boitsfort racecourse, a two-century-old beech stand is trying to survive despite the harsh conditions of the terrain.
Instant flooding occurs with every heavy rain.
Temporary water tables form due to the impermeability of the soil. Indeed, the activity of man over time is the main cause of the formation of clay layers in the soil.
Trees are not the only victims of this phenomenon. Protected species such as bats consider these old trees as their own habitat.
The topography is closely linked to the formation of flood zones. The creation of buffer basins by modifying the topography in localized places makes it possible to respond to the problems facing this ecosystem while helping it to survive, develop and diversify. The water flows from the basins to a perimeter ditch that surrounds the site and recreates a kind of natural barrier.
Rainwater is redirected to basins that filter the water through the ground using specific vegetation in wetlands.
These buffer basins constitute a place of life for new animal and plant species, eager for wetlands.
Some basins are equipped with overflows allowing water to flow from one basin to another. Water submerges certain paths during heavy rains, creating a contrast between geometric shapes and rather organic shapes.
The architectural and spatial design of this project responds to hygrometric and topographical questions specific to the area studied. However, it can be reflected on a whole other scale and in very different way depending on the ecosystem and the specific area it faces.
BA-1 2019-20
Enseignants : Hugo Corbet, Bollaert Valentin et Sarah Cremer
