Re-doing constructive sections + architectural situations - Nature Colonization of Can Lis / Alejandro Rubio Cebrián

CONCEPT

Person+House+Nature Connection
Can Lis is located in a land near Porto Pietro, on the edge of a cliff with an extraordinary view of the sea and surrounded by vegetation.

Through Nature Colonization is intended to bring the natural world that surrounds the house into the same and get closer to the client. For this it has been made a selection of native plants of Mallorca to colonise the walls and furniture of the house.

By this way, even if the client cannot get out of it house because of his gradual loss of mobility, the connection person-house-nature is maintained.

Vegetation like therapeutic element for the client

Nature Colonization invites the client to interact with the space through vegetation. For this reason, it has been studied the location of the different plants selected to place those that requires a higher care in low and accessible parts of the house so that its pruning and maintenance can be included as part of the exercise program that the client makes daily to delay the progression of muscular dystrophy and articulation problems.

By this way the exercise become not just exercises. The client does not only depend on them, but the house appearance depends on that person exercises.

Improvement of the heating house conditions - A vegetal cover like passive hygrothermal conditioning.

One of the reasons that leads Utzon to move from a Can Lis to Can Feliz was the bad hygrothermal conditions of this residence. This house was projected to be a summer residence, becoming a cold house during the winter due to the high humidity content of the air in Mallorca.

Thus, this plant cover becomes an excellent coating for hygrothermal conditioning of a big part of the house, reducing the heat input through the walls and regulating the humidity excess, creating a suitable microclimate.

Connection between ephemeral plants and the client's life: The beauty of short things

Apart from the mallorcan native species included in the plant selection it have been chosen various annual and ephemeral plants to complete the colonization of Can Lis. Annual plants germinate, flower and succumb in the course of a year even survive year after year by the seeds deposited. The ephemeral plants have a lower life-cycle (6 to 8 months).

One of the most important and sensitive issues of natural colonization is to show every day that ephemeral things may have a great beauty.

We performed a chart based on Diller Scofidio and James Corner graphics that they made to represent the evolution of natural life and the use of public space in the High Line of New York.

This diagram indicates the degree of the vegetation colonization in Can Lis over time, representing the plant selection based on the level of maintenance needed and in accessibility degree to care for them by the client.

At the same time, it has been made a classification based on the different types of gardens that will be configured depending on their nature: Vertical garden to colonice, Gramineas Forest, Vertical Patchwork, Wetland Garden y Climber Garden.

We performed a study of the major movements that the client must make to keep the vertical garden in order to include them in a therapeutic program to replace the usual movements that the client makes in their daily rehabilitation.

We have represent the constructive section of the facade that is in a courtyard of Can Lis to explain the system that will be used on the walls for Nature Colonization.

It consists in a supporting metal frame that configures the different gardens projected, acquiring different configurations, sizes and shapes depending on the type of garden. This structure is formed of aluminium that are attached to the walls by high resistance screws and a metal plates leaving a channel for air circulation to the correct oxygenation of the plants.

Then a panel of foamed PVC it´s placed on which the culture substrate (polyester-cotton) is located where the plant selection is added.

The system comes complete with a porous irrigation system that allows shower the highest areas and channel to collect exceeded water in the bottom.

Here is a section to indicate the emplacement of the different gardens that conform Nature Colonization and to indicate the characteristics of each one.

 

Here is a composition of the final result of one of the sections of the house to see the skin made by Nature colonization over Can Lis. In that composition are indicated the different native species of Mallorca plants that have been selected.

Here it´s a a section of one of the rooms con Can Lis, where we can see a table a bookcase and a bed of stone which cannot be used by the customer due to the characteristics of this furniture. By this reason, the project includes the natural colonization of all those furniture that cannot be used by the client and the care of this vegetation can have a therapeutic purpose.

Thus, it´s configured an accessible area (less than 1.4 meters high) colonized by climber plants, whose care requires a series of movements that can be included in the program of client´s daily exercises.

The bed and low shelving holes have been converted into a small orchard and flower planting area.