 |
|
|
|
purification plant MeranoI - Sinigo. via Nazionale. completion 2000 |
|
 |
|
The design of the open space refers very much to the functionality of the purification plant by indicating broadly the mechanical steps of purification and reflecting them from inside the building to the outside. The representation area along the road to Bolzano can be thought of as a drained course of a river, whereas the real water flow moves inside the plant. There also happens the selection of sediments from heavy to always finer material, just like a river with decreasing speed carries along the finest sand only. At the outside the soil texture expresses this process of purification: large boulders at the northern part of the site change into smaller stones in the fields of lavender, further on yet to finer material in the meadow of perennial herbs til the finest sand in the area of poor grassland around the biotope, located at the very south. At the same time the degree of artificiality in the design decreases and finally reaches at the biotope the return to pristine nature. There purified water from the plant fills the pond and a 5000m2 large wildflower meadow provides a home range for innumerable animal species. There are selected some very fragrant species in all compositions of plants – a hint at the fear of the unpleasant odour which might spread out from the pretended stinking purification plant. Trees of Clerodendrum trichotomum enclose the semicircular car park, providing shade in the summer with their large leaves. The field of Lavandula angustifolia beside has its bloomy culmination in the early summer. Around the after-clarifier a meadow of perennial herbs encloses the area towards the road and passes seamlessly into the poor grassland area. The selected plants submit in their habitus and dominance to the conception of design, naturalness increases with the nearness to the biotope – in this case by the use of indigenous grasses, herbs and trees. |
|||
| Within the next few years the band of shrubs and trees closing the biotope will form a biotope-bridge to the tree border surrounding the river Adige, whereas the watery zone successively will silt up, becoming a march area, nowadays a very rare and precious habitat. |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |