ECO2 reimagines arizona's rio salado river as an ecologically regenerative landscape

michael krause of arizona-based architecture firm krause has collaborated with kartika rachmawati for ECO2, the winning proposal of the international ideas competition rio reimagined 2018, which seeks to provide the vision for future development along the rio salado river. the proposal connects the 58-mile geographic span, which comprises eight different communities, with both the existing and proposed infrastructure. at the same time, the project implements a progressive commerce design, ensuring an equitable, and sustainable environment, while restoring the river’s natural ecosystem and providing the catalyst of economic vitality to the region.

held by the american institute of architects (AIA), ULI arizona and arizona forward, the rio reimagined 2018 competition selected michael krause and kartika rachmawati’s proposal, which envisions an exponential-loop economy of ecologically regenerative arid-land urbanism. ECO2 combines sustainable technologies with landscape principals for the in-situ removal of soil contaminants from the rio salado to refuel a resilient desert community and transform it into an economic backbone for the region.

as contemporary cities and deserts grow, a common issue in arizona is how to repurpose underutilized land / resources for urban development. ECO2 provides an insurance policy for the region while showcasing how urbanity and agriculture can be interwoven to enhance the relationship to people and the land. spanning 213 acres of self-sustaining buildings and landscape that are designed to encourage creative pursuits in the innovation of research and scientific advancement for agricultural products and processes, the project ensures a high quality of living and integrated landscape systems that will weave into the fabric of the larger regional plan for rio salado.

michael krause and kartika rachmawati have envisioned a mixed-use, low-rise, high-density development which will be the first modern community in the world to operate without fossil-fueled vehicles at street level. ECO2 seeks to become a completely green infrastructure for the rio salado west corridor, harvesting wind, solar, and algae, and creating a network of constructed ephemeral wetlands, hydrological ecosystems, and native habitats. at the heart of the development is growhaus 2.0, an education and neighborhood resource center for the advancement of new ideas and the production of agriculture in extreme environments.

project info:

name: ECO2

team: michael krause and kartika rachmawati

competition: rio reimagined 2018

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edited by: sofia lekka angelopoulou | designboom