Innovative Design: Florence Airport's Rooftop Vineyard

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Rafael Viñoly Architects, a New York-based firm, has an extensive portfolio that includes projects on five continents, such as the "Walkie Talkie" skyscraper in London and the Carrasco International Airport in Uruguay. Their most recent project, announced in January, will be a new international terminal at the Aeroporto Amerigo Vespucci in Florence, the capital of the Italian region of Tuscany.

The firm envisions the structure as a new landmark for the city's sustainable future. Additionally, as a tribute to the region's wine-producing heritage, there will be a vineyard on the roof.

According to Román Viñoly, director of Rafael Viñoly Architects, the building's concept is to replicate the quintessential Tuscan landscape of a vineyard. The design includes peeling one end of the vineyard up from the floor to create a slope, under which an airport will be situated.

Set to be completed in two phases, anticipated for 2026 and 2035, Viñoly emphasizes that sustainability is key for the new structure, stating that it is a “moral responsibility of anybody building anything.”

The construction sector and the built environment contribute to 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions, while commercial aviation is responsible for about 2.5% of all emissions. Efforts to reduce this impact have mainly focused on innovations in plane fuel, such as fuel derived from cooking oil and sewage. However, this new project shifts the focus to the operation and construction of the airport itself.

The main feature of the design is a 19-acre vineyard that serves as a sloping green roof. Research indicates that this design can offer environmental advantages, such as providing insulation for the building. In addition to the sloped roof, other energy-efficient features will be incorporated into the design.

"The roof doesn’t begin directly at the floor," Viñoly points out. "Instead, the initial third of the building's length is a mound of soil and earth."

He goes on to describe how heat exchanger coils will transfer heat between the berm and the building, adjusting to the season.

According to the architects, the new 50,000-square-meter terminal (pictured here in a rendering) will be able to handle more than 5.9 million international passengers a year.

According to the architects, the new 50,000-square-meter terminal (pictured here in a rendering) will be able to handle more than 5.9 million international passengers a year.

Rafael Viñoly Architects

According to Viñoly, during the summer, the earth mass can be used to cool the interior space effectively by exchanging heat. This helps in maintaining a lower temperature for a longer period. When winter arrives and heating is required, the heat exchange process can be repeated to extract heat from the soil and transfer it into the terminal.

A combination of solar panels and translucent photovoltaic panels will be woven through the structure, including between the vine rows. Architect Viñoly emphasizes that these panels are crucial for reducing energy usage and creating a visual connection between passengers inside the building and the vineyard.

When passengers gaze upwards, they won't see any fruit. Viñoly explains that to avoid the risk of foreign object damage to aircraft engines, the roof will mainly be covered with non-fruit-bearing rootstock vineyards. The decision to grow the fruit on the soil bed of the berm instead was made after careful consideration.

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Architect Viñoly explains that they have conducted extensive research and consulted with winemakers and agricultural engineers for the new building. The distance of nearly 500 meters from the nearest airplane ensures that any potential pollutants will not affect the quality of the wine produced, providing confidence in the project's success.

The winery at the vineyard has not yet been confirmed, but there are plans to potentially create one under the roof, according to Viñoly. The choice of winemaker for the airport has also not been finalized.

The airport is facing a green challenge in the form of creating a sustainable vineyard.

The project is expected to be at the forefront of sustainability, according to Filippo Weber, a member of the Italian Climate Network and founder of Weber Architects, a sustainable architecture firm in Italy. However, he raises concerns about whether the focus has been more on the aesthetics of the vineyard rather than its environmental benefits.

The 19-acre vineyard, partially visible on top of the roof in this rendering, will help to insulate the terminal building, and control rain water runoff, reducing the risk of floods, according to the architects.

The architects from Rafael Viñoly have designed a 19-acre vineyard on top of the roof in this rendering. This vineyard will not only add to the beauty of the terminal building but also serve a practical purpose. It will help insulate the building and control rainwater runoff, which in turn will reduce the risk of floods.

Weber points out that besides the vineyard's potential high water demand, the fact that vines are not green all year round reduces their ability to offset the building's energy consumption.

Additionally, Weber mentions that photovoltaic panels placed between vine rows may not have enough surface area and could be shaded by the vines, posing a risk to their effectiveness.

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Weber finds the use of a berm as a heat exchanger intriguing but believes more information is needed to assess its effectiveness. He questions whether a shallow layer of soil can store enough energy to efficiently exchange heat with a high-energy consuming building.

Ultimately, the focus should be on reducing emissions from airlines themselves, as greener airports alone will not have a significant impact on decreasing aviation emissions. Despite global airline commitments to achieve net-zero greenhouse gases by 2050, the industry is currently not on course to meet this goal.

Nevertheless, Viñoly is optimistic that the project will inspire airports worldwide to prioritize sustainability and acknowledge that airports are not just stopover points, but also destinations in their own right.

Editor's P/S:

The article presents an intriguing and innovative approach to airport design by incorporating a vineyard on the roof. The emphasis on sustainability is commendable, with features like energy-efficient construction and rainwater management. However, concerns raised by architect Filippo Weber highlight the need to balance aesthetics with practical environmental benefits. The project has the potential to set a precedent for greener airports, but it's crucial to ensure that the vineyard's functionality and effectiveness are thoroughly evaluated to maximize its impact on reducing aviation's environmental footprint.