BANYAN HUB AN URBAN CATALYST

After winning the international Shore to Core competition, commissioned by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and organised by the Van Alen Institute in 2017, Ecosistema Urbano is developing several parts of their proposal that aims to redevelop the waterfront of West Palm Beach, Florida, among them the visionary Banyan Hub building.

The Banyan Hub project arises from the intuition of the City of West Palm Beach and the CRA to transform the existing Banyan Garage – a car-devoted building from the 70s in the heart of the Downtown – into a new opportunity to activate the city by creating a hub for dozens of new activities for both residents and visitors.

The Banyan Hub offers in a single building a wide range of different programs: three public plazas with retail and an event pavilion, a nature-framed business hub, a YMCA with spectacular views over the lagoon, and a residential area with an array of housing typologies.

Of key importance, the new building will not lose its garage function, as it will provide extensive parking space by incorporating Automated Parking System technologies.

The Banyan Hub is conceived to be a unique landmark in West Palm Beach urban landscape, not only for its flexible and hybrid design but also for representing a pioneering approach to sustainable architecture. Its bioclimatic functioning includes features such as responsive façades, ventilation courtyards for natural evaporative cooling, passive ventilation, and active renewable energy systems. These will ensure pleasant environmental conditions all year round while also reducing the building’s environmental impact and management costs.

Ecosistema Urbano is an architecture and urban design company with offices in Madrid and Miami, who specialise in urban innovation projects, operating within the principles of design.