Stefano Boeri Architetti is perhaps best known for its series of greenery covered buildings – or Vertical Forests – that have sprouted up around the world. However, the Italian firm has now taken up the fight against the COVID-19 virus in its home country by designing a flower-inspired solar-powered building that will be used to administer vaccinations for the novel coronavirus.
The project was commissioned by Italy's Special Commissioner for the COVID-19 emergency, Domenico Arcuri, and is being made in collaboration with Anchora, Mario Piazza, and others. It will involve the installation of the temporary buildings throughout Italian towns and cities, alongside a campaign to inform the public on vaccines and encourage them to get vaccinated.
The buildings themselves will feature a simple yurt-like prefabricated wooden base and structure, with a textile exterior made from recyclable and biodegradable water-resistant materials, ensuring they are lightweight and easy to disassemble and move when required. Additionally, they will be topped by a photovoltaic panel system that will provide all power required. The overall design is inspired by the primrose flower.
The interiors will be divided into bathrooms, vaccine administration areas, vaccine storage, changing rooms, and so on.
"The inspirational flower behind the concept is the Primrose, the first to blossom after the long winter and announce the re-awakening of nature and the arrival of spring," explains Stefano Boeri Architetti's press release. "This flower is the element that will link every aspect of the campaign since it shares the same circular pattern as the layout of the pavilions that will be erected in Italy's squares and public spaces. It will be clearly visible from above as large versions of it will be printed on the pavilion roofs, side walls and information totems."
The proposal has already been approved and the firm told us that it expects the first models to be completed by early January, 2021, which is very fast indeed and brings to mind fellow Italian architecture firm Carlo Ratti Associatti's own response to COVID-19, which consisted of shipping container-based ICUs.
Source: Stefano Boeri Architetti