Project description by jury

Finding effective water and flood management strategies is critical for the province of Chaco, Argentina which is affected by extreme rainfall and related flooding events. This proposal, resulting from a multidisciplinary and multiscale design effort, attempts to offer water infrastructure for the city of Resistencia that goes beyond merely solving an environmental problem. Located in a territorial void of a peripheral area, the urban dike proposed by the project is conceived not only as a hydric platform but also as a social catalyst for the city. The artificial water basin is equipped with a series of modular structures adaptable to different uses that create various leisure scenarios according to the water level. A band of vegetation surrounding the infrastructure is placed as a transition area between the water and the adjacent urban fabric.

Progress / People

Progress: The project provides an answer to extreme water situations in cities around the world subject to storm floods, innovating in a new typology of multi-scale water infrastructure, combining existing urban infrastructures, and relating them to water, in favor of society's pleasure. Each element of km3 is designed with the objective of being located in large urban voids, train tracks, railway beaches, military areas. Replicable in a global context, subjected to water stress.

People: A social-hydric platform, a support for cultural, sports, recreational, civic activities, and services, which seeks to link the community with water, giving it symbolism, providing new opportunities for urban development, public and private policies, contributing to a habitat accessible and inclusive.

The Next Generation 2nd prize for Latin America went to Fluid Buffer in Argentina – Urban flood mitigation and recreation infrastructure by Gimena Ponce Abba, María Florencia Ruiz Cabello, and María Rosario Ruiz Cabello, students at the National University of Córdoba, Argentina.

Sixty percent of the city of Resistencia suffers flooding within an hour during heavy downpours. The project by Gimena Ponce Abba, María Florencia Ruiz Cabello, and María Rosario Ruiz Cabello,students of architecture at the National University of Córdoba, shows how such flooding can be mitigated. “Our solution includes architecture, engineering, landscape design, urban design, and ecology,” summarizes María Rosario Ruiz Cabello.

The project reinterprets the concept and role of water infrastructure in the urban context. A system of catch basins, so-called socio-hydric platforms, is to be installed in large voids within the urban network. There, facilities for social, cultural, sports, and civic activities can be introduced. Depending on the water level, the platforms can also collect, retain, and transport stormwater, employing a natural treatment process. A green belt serves as the interface between the platforms and the surrounding urban districts. “What is very impressive is how generalizable the concept is,” says Marilyne Andersen: “The project does not fight the flooding and try to hold the water back but works with the dynamics of the water and turns it into something positive.” The multidisciplinary approach necessary to achieve this result strongly impressed the jury.

Media Release (English) – Latin America: Responses to pressing challenges

Comunicado de Prensa (Spanish) – Latinoamérica: Respuestas a desafíos urgentes

El sesenta por ciento de la ciudad de Resistencia se inunda a la hora de comenzar a recibir la caída repentina de grandes lluvias. El proyecto de Gimena Ponce Abba, María Florencia Ruiz Cabello, y María Rosario Ruiz Cabello, estudiantes de arquitectura de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, muestra cómo es posible mitigar esas inundaciones. “Nuestra solución incluye arquitectura, ingeniería, diseño paisajístico, diseño urbano y ecología”, resume María Rosario Ruiz Cabello.

El proyecto reinterpreta el concepto y el rol de la infraestructura hídrica en el contexto urbano y propone la instalación de un sistema de cuencas de captación en grandes terrenos baldíos dentro de la trama urbana. Allí, se propone introducir instalaciones para la realización de actividades sociales, culturales, deportivas y cívicas. Dependiendo del nivel del agua, estas plataformas también pueden captar, almacenar, y trasladar el agua de tormenta, a través de un proceso de tratamiento natural. Un cinturón verde forma una zona de transición entre las instalaciones de retención de agua y el entramado urbano colindante. “Lo que resulta impactante de este concepto es que es generalizable”, destaca Marilyne Andersen: “El proyecto no lucha contra la inundación tratando de impedir el avance del agua, sino que trabaja con la dinámica del agua y la transforma en algo positivo.” El enfoque multidisciplinario necesario para lograr este resultado impresionó fuertemente al jurado.

Media Release (English) – Latin America: Responses to pressing challenges

Comunicado de Prensa (Spanish) – Latinoamérica: Respuestas a desafíos urgentes