The first pilot area has showed the creation of an urban jungle in a private area: the ESTRA building and its surroundings located in a complex urban area overlooking the busiest public street in the city with the daily passage of 50,000 vehicles. The building, as early as 2018, has been the subject of energy efficiency interventions, and the construction of the Urban Jungle has been part of a path that aims at sustainability, an objective the company pursues in all its areas of activity.
Estra has chosen to join this project aiming not only at the protection of the environment but also at the well-being of people (employees, citizens, the territory). This is why it has experimented with Nature-Based Solutions to address this social and environmental challenge and it has done so by exploiting the synergies with project partners, to safeguard the psycho-physical well-being of its employees and make a concrete contribution to the territory in which it operates.
The redevelopment project of the Consiag-Estra headquarters, conceived by Stefano Boeri Architetti, has focused on three existing elements: the four facades, the roof and the outdoor parking. The intervention on the external parking area has involved a partial demineralization of the soil and the creation of parking spaces dedicated to sustainable mobility. Different vegetation interventions have been planned for the four facades based on orientation and exposure, for example climbing plants have been shielded the facade subject to intense sun exposure, improving the environmental comfort of the building and the well-being of employees. The chosen species have been native, with the ability to accumulate and store CO2, in order to remove atmospheric pollutants and to attract pollinating insects. The existing roof has been divided into portions that have hosted species selected to attract pollinating insects and it has become a meeting place for Consiag-Estra employees. The project also has provided for the use of a state-of-the-art irrigation and rainwater collection system.