1st Place in Land Art Generator Initiatives 2022 Design Challenge, Mannheim

Alongside with the BUGA 23 horticultural show, the former Spinelli Barracks site is expected to be transformed into a public park- filled with lush greens, rich biodiversity, and active participation of communities. Such transition inspires us to forwardly express our imagination upon the future of the park: What will be the ideal relationship between people, the landscape, its wildlife, and the energy/ resources which cycles within? How would this cycle be emerged and prevailed to its community in a tactile and theatrical experience? And what could be the possible meaning of this park to Mannheim?

Responding to these initial propositions, the project Energy Circus align itself to the theme of the festive atmosphere of BUGA 23, envisioning a public park driven by flow of energy and native resources that are staged analogously to a circus. Energy Circus shall become a collective ground to cultivate intimate relationship between its community, landscape, and wildlife through a bespoke cycle of shared ecosystem. While offering an educational, participative yet playful experience, the public park is left to be embellished and grow with natural human activities and organic changes over time.

In this sense, architecture is perceived as temporary guest here without override the pre-existed environment. Energy Circus is designed with an inventory of SEEDs (Socio-Ecological Energizing Devices) to support the holistic ecosystem. These lightweight and transient structures are acting as series of energy or resources apparatus to support the 4 significant domains in the masterplan- food, civic, ecology, technology, and ecology. They are the vessels to channel and revamp the energy or natural resources, where a palpable close-loop cycle could be witnessed, celebrated, observed, and learned when navigating through the park.

Reflecting on the 4 domains stated, the programmatic framework of Energy Circus is shaped for combination of sustainable and resilient purposes- [1] food: cultivation of productive landscapes; [2] civic: fostering collective participation; [3] technology: efficient operative implementation; and [4] ecology: initiating environmental stewardships. Energy Circus is thus, a resonance of vivid biosphere and visible circulation of energy flows, natural resources, people’s movements, and wild livings- almost akin to an ‘energy amusement park’.