Amusement Logic’s Design Department has launched a new initiative to alleviate, to some extent, the phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. This occurs in dense urban centres, where tarmac and concrete, traffic and a lack of vegetation cause urban temperatures to rise compared with those in outlying areas.
Although planting trees, creating green corridors and using permeable surfaces are effective long-term solutions, implementing them requires time, space and investment that are not always within the reach of local authority budgets. In contrast, these modular mobile structures temporarily transform the parts of the city most exposed to heat into small oases of coolness, without the need for major operations.
This is a uniform ensemble of lightweight pergolas, with fabric canopies, awnings and structures that provide support for vegetation. Whilst protecting passers-by and residents from the sun, they prevent the pavement from heating up. Their effect is enhanced by modular planters and flowerbeds, which provide cooling through evapotranspiration. Urban spaces are therefore filled with green corners offering pleasant temperatures – urban places with their own identity and vitality.
Water, meanwhile, flows through recirculation circuits that cool the environment without wasting resources, contributing to cooling via misting arches, low-pressure sprayers and drinking fountains. The combination of shade, vegetation and water creates climatic refuges. At the same time, smart systems regulate their operation according to the ambient temperature and the presence of people. The modules feature benches, tables, bicycle racks, lighting and charging points for electronic devices.
As we mentioned, this proposal for street furniture does not replace the structural transformation of cities, but it does offer an immediate, flexible and visually striking solution within the urban landscape. Sustainable by virtue of its reusability, its installation without the need for building works, its modularity and its mobility, our proposal transforms squares and urban spaces into liveable, socially attractive places.
By Federico Urbán, designer in the Design Department at Amusement Logic
