The infrastructure and utilities located beneath cities continuously reject heat in the subsurface, creating subsurface urban heat islands. This phenomenon, known as an underground climate change, is causing ground temperatures to rise by up to 2.5°C per decade, with local anomalies exceeding 70°C. These temperatures pose risks to building foundations, underground transportation systems, public health, and the environment. However, underground climate change also presents valuable opportunities to retrofit building envelopes and deploy geothermal technologies to reduce the diffusion of waste heat in the urban subsurface and enhance the sustainability of cities.
Participants
SUBSURFACE OPPORTUNITIES AND INNOVATIONS LABORATORY,
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
EVANSTON, IL, USA
GEOEG
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND
Alessandro F. Rotta Loria, Turin, Italy, 1989. Lives and works in Chicago, USA. ENERDRAPE
RENENS, SWITZERLAND
Margaux Peltier, Monaco, Principality of Monaco, 1993. Lives and work in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Team
Alessandro F. Rotta Loria, Giorgia Chinazzo, Margaux Peltier, Melissa Rotta Loria, Guido Corino, Andrea Mangiantini, Anjali Thota, Zhonghao Chu, Elena Ravera, Beatrice Formenti, Anaëlle Burnand, Lyesse Laloui
Supporters
The Alumnae of Northwestern University, Rebiennale, Must Be, Modolab, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, MARVE
