Heat Afterlife: A Seasonal Landscape

The carbon emissions of the steel industry account for 6.7% of all human activities. In recent years, heavy industry slowed due to tighter regulation for environmental protection, with major reductions in production of steel—one of the main drivers of Tianjin’s economy. The decarbonization goal and place enormous pressure on Tianjin’s high-energy, polluting industries to seek sustainable models.

In the process of steel-making industry, we identify the low recovery rate of low-grade waste heat as the essential issue. The inorganized heat emission has caused severe urban heat island effect. Instead of shutting down factories as a common method, this project explored a way to coexist with industrial engines in the post-industrial era — by using the waste heat gradient attached to urban infrastructure to create microclimate and seasonal landscape. Through choregraphing the lifecycle of waste heat, we visualized the process of heat exchange and heat release. The waste heat utilization also benefits a development of aquiculture, agriculture, plant nursery as well as urban public space in our design.