Embodied carbon
No formal carbon calculation was carried out. Instead, the project follows a pragmatic rehabilitation approach focused on maximizing the use of the existing cistern structure and improving its performance with minimal intervention.
The strategy inherently reduces carbon emissions by avoiding demolition, limiting new material use, and upgrading only what was necessary. The environmental impact is therefore addressed through design decisions rather than through a fully quantified LCA.
Operational Emissions / Energy
Operational emissions are reduced through passive design strategies and the intelligent reuse of the existing structure. The project takes advantage of the thermal mass and stable underground conditions of the cisterns, which help regulate temperature naturally and minimize the need for active heating and cooling.
Interventions are minimal and targeted, improving ventilation, daylight access, and energy efficiency without altering the inherent environmental performance of the space. Overall, the design prioritizes low-energy use through simplicity, durability, and reliance on passive environmental control.
Service and maintenance emissions
Service and maintenance emissions are reduced through a strategy of minimal intervention and material durability. The project preserves and exposes the existing structure, avoiding unnecessary layers and finishes that would require future replacement.
New elements are designed to be robust, simple, and easy to maintain, with long-lasting materials and accessible solutions. By limiting technical complexity and prioritizing passive performance, the need for intensive maintenance and replacement over time is significantly reduced.
Afterlife
Yes, adaptive reuse was a key consideration. The intervention is deliberately minimal and reversible, preserving the spatial integrity of the cisterns and avoiding highly specific or fixed programmatic solutions.
The resulting space is open, flexible, and capable of accommodating different uses over time. By relying on simple insertions rather than permanent transformations, the project allows for future adaptations without significant additional interventions.
Yes. The project incorporates reversible and low-impact interventions, where new elements are conceived as independent insertions within the existing structure. Wherever possible, dry connections and prefabricated components are used, allowing for easy disassembly.
This approach enables key added elements—such as platforms, lightweight structures, and secondary components—to be removed, replaced, or reused without affecting the original fabric, supporting their potential reintegration into the circular economy.