Urban Climate Oasis Milano 2022

Markus Jeschaunig lives and works in Graz and the Biosphere. Inspired by the dynamics and forces of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere, his artworks evolve between the poles of ecology, landscape, technology as well as public space and activism. He studied architecture at the University of Art and Design Linz and the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Istanbul. After graduation in 2010, he established his own art practice and studio Agency in Biosphere, and participated in various national and international art exhibitions and projects. Jeschaunig is co-author of »breathe.austria« – Austrian pavilion at Expo 2015 in Milan (as part of »team.breathe.austria«). He is co-founder of the transdisciplinary Think-tank »Breathe Earth Collective« (2015).

Urban Climate Oasis Milano is a showcase to demonstrate the reactivation of lost energy potentials in a city, where waste heat is released without return from many technical and industrial facilities.Taking Milan as a case study, the work uses data collected by the research institution Human Technopole and the yearly energy usage of datacenters to uncover the unsustainable misusage of waste heat, and repurposes it to power a temporary greenhouse structure adjacent toTechnopole’s research building. Urban Climate Oasis Milano is thus a space for growing microalgae powered only by waste heat from exhaust shafts on the roof. Behind the ETFE membrane, the algae find ideal temperatures and daylight conditions to grow, and meanwhile, the space can be used as a meeting room or exchange space for scientific research to develop and be made public. The work presented at : RETOOL shows the model of a temporary greenhouse bubble using the typical plastic ETFE membrane, and simulates the growth of micro algae on this membrane in daylight winter conditions.The project intends to visibilise and make scientific developments accessible, while fostering and inspiring new modes of environmental action through the showcase of circular material loops. Addressing circularity in design and art-making, a repurposed table generated from a door panels of a demolished building serves as support of the project’s documentation.

Urban Climate Oasis Milano was co-commissioned by MEET Digital Culture Center in the framework of Repairing the Urban Fabric, a S+T+ARTS residency exploring the resilience of cities not only against external pathogens, but also as vectors of healing and wellbeing through social proximity and complexity. The project is developed with the science partnership of Human Technopole Milano, Climate engineer Sebastian Sautter ZT (Austria), and the assistance of Alessia Lapio, Daniel Bracher, and Richard Kopf.

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https://agencyinbiosphere.com/archives/project/climate-oasis-milano 

Ars Electronica Archiv (aec.at)

MEET DIGITAL CULTURE CENTER – S+T+ARTS