ELINA CHEN

Buenos Aires blue carbon banking research center, located along the coast of Rio de Plata, serves as a scientific hub that responds to the risk of climate change and sea level rise the city is facing. The ecology of the “thickened surface” - 25ft above and below the grade - serves as an important design strategy of this project.

Surrounded by train tracks and underground highway, the research center stands on a strategic site that connects the Plaza de Canada, the large-scale urban center Catalina Norte in development, and the coastal city. Designed as both a private research laboratory and a public platform that exhibits the newest discovery in blue carbon banking, the research center is an urban attraction that draws people in. From far, it reads like an undulating mass that floats above the triangulated site. The roof surface wraps around at the tree canopy level 25ft above the ground. It drops down its volume on one part of the building body, creating a cave-like massing that serves for the public program. On the other side where labs and research offices are located, different stratas are exposed, with curtain wall structure hiding behind each layer. On the ground level, a passage of walkway trespasses blocks of wetlands, creating a promenade for entrances and crossing the site towards the Catalina Norte. The elevated ground not only responds to the flooding situation but also creates public porosity that connects the project with the imminent urban context.