UrbanShift.eu

Talents

Sponge Building

Team:

Patricia Leandro Reguillo

The Sponge Building offers an innovative solution to impermeable and dense cities by surrounding buildings with an absorbent skin that retains rainwater, helping to conserve water and energy. Impermeable cities prevent up to 80% of rainwater from penetrating the ground, leading to runoff, flooding, pollution, erosion, and the urban heat island effect, which increases temperatures and poses health risks. The Sponge Building Project absorbs up to 18 litres per square meter of rainwater on building facades and promotes vegetation growth without irrigation, mitigating these problems. 

The project utilizes customizable, sustainable, and efficient 3D printed panels of cells with an absorbent substrate and mini-water retention chambers. The approach aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, providing various benefits, including interior comfort, cooling of the environment, energy savings, water conservation, biodiversity attraction, rainwater filtration, and environmental pollution reduction. The Sponge Building Project is tailored, scalable, circular, and affordable, targeting cities, developers, and architects seeking sustainable and innovative construction practices. 

In conclusion, the Sponge Building offers a promising solution to the problem of dense cities. The approach can retain rainwater, prevent waste and contamination, enhance the environment, resilience, and health of urban areas, and mitigate the problems associated with impermeable cities. The use of sustainable, customizable, and efficient 3D printed panels aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals and provides various benefits. The Sponge Building Project is tailored, scalable, circular, and affordable, targeting cities, developers, and architects seeking sustainable and innovative construction practices. Overall, the Sponge Building Project offers significant benefits for the environment, health, and wellbeing of urban areas.