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  • For this vote, you can choose 5 projects.

Short summary

Begrünte Sonnensegel spenden Schatten, kühlen die Umgebung und verbessern das Mikroklima in heissen Strassen. Ein Pilotprojekt testet Technik, Pflanzenwahl und Umsetzbarkeit im Quartier. Ziel ist eine übertragbare Lösung für klimaresiliente Stadträume.

Planted shade sails for cooler roads

Avatar: Stefan Schorb Stefan Schorb

Approved for voting
What should be created?
Summers in Zurich are getting hotter, and the urban heat island effect ensures that asphalted streets and building facades heat up strongly during the day and hardly cool down at night. Trees are a proven solution to this – but they cannot be planted everywhere, and they take years to provide enough shade. This project idea is intended to test green sun sails in suitable streets in the pilot district: large-scale textile constructions that are stretched between building facades and greened with mosses and drought-resistant plants. The model comes from the Spanish city of Valladolid, where the company Singular Green has installed over 1,200 m² of such "green hammocks". The sails not only provide shade, but also filter CO₂ from the air, release moisture and thus create a double cooling effect. An integrated irrigation system with a water cycle supplies the plants efficiently and saves resources. In addition, the substrate has a sound-absorbing effect – a side effect that is particularly welcome in busy neighbourhood streets. In order to holistically optimise the CO₂ balance of the project, the plants are to be sourced from Swiss suppliers such as Feey. Short transport routes, regional cultivation and plant varieties adapted to the local climate not only improve the ecological footprint of the project, but also increase the survival rate of the greening and reduce the maintenance effort. At the same time, such a partnership offers the opportunity to work with Swiss plant experts to find practical solutions to the well-known challenges of green sun sails – for example, in the choice of the optimal substrate, the wind resistance of the planting or the question of which plant species are best suited for hanging, exposed constructions. This is because the pilot project is intended to address the known challenges of such installations from the very beginning. The discussion about green sun sails in Basel has shown that central issues have to be solved: securing the substrate against wind (so that no earth falls on passers-by), ensuring access for the fire brigade (sails must be easy to cut through or retract), the consent of the adjacent owners and the appropriate building height and façade condition. The pilot in Alt-Wiedikon / Binz offers the ideal opportunity to answer these open questions in practice – on a manageable scale, with scientific support from the pilot roost programme and in cooperation with Swiss partners who have the necessary plant knowledge. Specifically, a prototype is to be installed in one or two suitable road sections to test various substrate and fastening solutions (e.g. coconut fibre mats instead of loose soil, storm-proof anchoring systems, quick-release sail mechanisms). The findings from the pilot can be directly transferred to other Zurich districts – in line with the learning process that the Net-Zero pilot district is striving for. The project addresses several emission areas at the same time: it reduces energy consumption by reducing the use of air conditioning, actively binds CO₂ through the plant areas and at the same time creates cooler, quieter and more attractive street space – a better quality of life for everyone in the district.
example
The Spanish company Singular Green has installed large-scale green shade sails with an integrated irrigation circuit in Valladolid. This pilot would clarify precisely these open points – ideally in cooperation with Swiss plant suppliers such as e.g. Feey, who can contribute expertise in climate-friendly and easy-care plant solutions.
Are you an individual or part of a group?
I'm an individual
Name
Stefan Schorb
Are you implementing the idea alone or are you still looking for comrades-in-arms?
I/we are still looking for comrades-in-arms
Describe the place(s)
Road sections with suitable building height and distance in the pilot district (e.g. narrower district streets in Alt-Wiedikon or Binz, where sails can be stretched between the facades and there is sufficient sunlight).
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