Architecture

UN Climate Change Conference 2009 - awareness pavilion.

BACKGROUND

In 1964 Peter Cook and Archigram created the utopian vision of the Plug-In-City. A mega-structure with no
buildings. A massive framework into which dwellings in the form of cells or standardized components could
be slotted.

Today we should direct our focus towards the Plug-Out-City. Buildings should try and be as independent of
the city infrastructure - the grid - as possible. They should harvest their own energy and keep
energy consumption at a minimum.
Collect and recycle water and maybe even produce their own food. Working towards that vision we have to
accept certain sacrifices.

Living in the western world having exotic food from around the planet available at all seasons is taken for
granted. The truth is, as consumer demand for exotic food has increased, so has the impact of transportation
on the environment. We could reduce the outlet of greenhouse gasses substantially by simply buying local.
However this would mean that we as Scandinavians would have to give up a lot of fruits and vegetables.

But what if we could harvest the wasted energy from our buildings and use it to produce locally grown exotic food in the middle of winter?

OBJECTIVE AND INSTALLATION

The primary objective of the COP15 Plug-Out-City installation is to raise awareness about the ongoing
conference. This is done by “plugging-out” a number of greenhouses on scissor lifts from existing office
spaces. The greenhouses will use the large amounts of heat produced by the server farms found in the
offices to produce exotic vegetables and fruits.

The elevation of the greenhouses will make them visible
by the 70.000 people crossing the Knibbelsbro on a daily basis and at night the lit greenhouses will be
seen from all over the harbour. The elevation will also underline the fact that these crops are CO2 heavy
and therefore should be non-accessible in the middle of winter. On the ground two greenhouses will host
farmer’s markets where local farmers will sell their crops and offer advice and inspiration on how to cook
seasonally.

The installation is put together by standard pre fabricated greenhouse elements that can be flat packed and therefore keep transportation costs (and carbon footprint) at a minimum. The greenhouses are placed on an aluminum base filled with Gaia soil and then held in place by two scissor lifts. After two weeks the greenhouses can be disassembled and re-erected elsewhere and the rented scissor lifts returned. Nothing wasted.