Environment Park – Parco Scientifico Tecnologico per l’Ambiente – or simply EnviPark, is a research and innovation center in Turin, Italy in a building environment that uses low environmental impact solutions. Built on the initiative of the Regione Piemonte, City of Turin and the European Union, it represents an innovative experience in Europe because it is the first Technological and Scientific Park dedicated to environmental technologies.

Environment Park includes more than 70 international corporations all focused on eco-efficiency and the holistic approach to concepts of sustainability and environment. The research activities are mainly focused on four themes: BioArchitecture; Integrated Environmental Projects; Energy; and Plasma.

Sectors include Renewable Energy – a mini-hydroelectricity plant is located inside Environment Park and a hydrogen production plant has three processing lines for the pre-treatment of biomass and the purification of gas; Sustainable Development – Energy Efficiency and Green Building; Sustainable Transportation – use of hydrogen as an energy vector and Fuel cells for the production of power in electric road vehicles; and Conservation.

As a whole, Environment Park covers an area of about 30.000 m2 consisting of laboratories, offices, service centers, and residential areas. A former 1.5 million m2 brownfield site of heavy industry, the new Master Plan was approved in 1993. Construction and redevelopment began in 1996 to 1999 with site remediation, reconstruction of the landscape, ecological renewal of water systems, and construction of a residential and industrial sector. The designers of Environment Park daylighted the Dora River, which had straddled the area but had been paved over with a concrete coping slab to accommodate a Fiat factory, among others. Now the Dora flows through the serene sprawling greenspace, which also boasts wide expanses of both flat and pitched green roofs; it is considered the largest green roof in Italy.

“For the area of Environment Park the Regulating Plan suggests the realisation of a river park on the two sides. The complex of Environment Park is composed by two compact groups of buildings, built on three levels (levels 0, 1, 2): particularly the level 1 is structured as a big platform, which covers the carparks, upon which several buildings rest. In fact, several buildings are built as a compact whole and present themselves as totally covered by extensive lawns, usable as public park, and separated by the wide split of the green valley,” (PEPESEC, see right).

The entire approximate roof area of 20,000 m2 was greened and, seen from above, the Environment Park Turin appears as a system of living gardens.

“The ZinCo System “Pitched Green Roof” was installed on the steeper roof areas (ca. 5.000 m2). This system transfers the shear forces into the sub-construction and provides the vegetation with water and nutriments,” (ZinCo Project Report, see right).

The eaves are reinforced and the vegetation cover remains lush all year long to avoid erosion. With a dense net of ivy-covered walls the roof top parks are publicly accessible via a series of gentle ramps that ascend from the sidewalk.

On top of the root resistant waterproofing, a Protection Mat SSM 45 was applied. ZinCo’s Floraset® FS 75 was installed as the drainage element on the pitched green roof area. The plant layer consists of lawn and multiple species of ground cover shrubs. See below for the complete System Build-up detail from ZinCo.

Emilio Ambasz & Associates says:

“Environment Park is a highly successful pilot project designed to transform an abandoned industrial landscape into an urban concentration of service, research and light industrial concerns. Underwritten as an exemplary project by the European Community, it is the first eco-technological park in Europe dedicated to addressing problems of the built environment. It demonstrates the viability of building advanced laboratories and workshops while simultaneously re-creating the green area these buildings cover.

“This ambitious project creates a unitary landscape of “green architecture” aimed at establishing a strong technical and symbolic relationship between garden and building. With an eye toward reducing energy consumption, the use of natural techniques in the management of the buildings is greatly emphasized.”