AIRSHIP.03 – Fountain of Air
social climate installation
Milan, Italy
2018
Airship.03 stems from the Austrian booth in Expo Milan 2015: a green area that has withdrawn curiosity, enjoyed, and freshened up the audience during the hottest days, witnessing the tight link between Austria and its nature and environment. Airship.03 is a temporary climate-landscape installation inviting visitors to plunge into a deep breathing experience. As a thick, humid and perfumed forest, it offers a significant improvement to the quality of air. Thanks to ventilation and water vaporizing technology, the perceived inner temperature decreases up till 5 degrees compared to the outside. Moss, fern and lichen have a major role. Being little eye-catching by nature, they are important for the ecosystem because they neutralize carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. The central water basin and the overhead breach to the sky act like a sort of clearing in the city centre.
The installation interacts directly with the surrounding environment: during the hot, dry days Airship.03 becomes a refreshing oasis. During rainy days, water is collected on the roof and cleaned and absorbed in the central basin. In this way the installation becomes an active part in the urban space by moderating the microclimate and it provides with a refreshing break both in sunny and rainy days.
Location: Milan
Year: 2018
Size: 30 m2
Principal: Austria Tourism
Concept, Architecture and landscape design by Breathe Earth Collective
Structural engineering by Kelse, Turin
Realisation with Tschabitscher Holzbau
Sponsored and supported by: Austria Tourism, Kärnten Werbung, Seefeld Werbung, Kärnten Werbung Millstätter See, Svensson, Biribauer, Raintime, CityLife Milan
Experience the video here: Airship 03 – Making Of
Photo credits:
Simon Oberhofer (interior and total perspective)
MS photography – Michael Stabentheiner (close up)
Breathe Earth Collective (illustrations)