CoolCo’s – Cooling Corners and Corridors targets two main challenges in cities: Increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves and inequalities. Urban centres with a high population density and sealed surface are gripped with extreme heat waves, leaving millions prone to the negative health impacts imposed through heat stress. Because of aging society, impacts are furthermore expected to significantly increase in the future. According to the European Commission, heatwaves are predicted to cause 90.000 annual deaths in Europe by 2100 (EC 2020).
We offer small-scale, modular urban space transformation hand in hand with co-design process, involving local vulnerable groups. By reaching out to them and involving them in the design process, we provide information and knowledge about their community and individual adaptation possibilities. Moreover, they contribute to shaping public space with their local knowledge. In strategic points of the cities, residents can sit down, have a rest in a shady area, grab water and connect. The shape and size of the CoolCo’s can be adjusted to fit the existing infrastructure, providing a Europe-wide infinitely implementable rapid answer to the already hurting heat.
The project is ongoing thanks to the New European Bauhaus Initiative, in collaboration with Koho' and RÉV8.
Regularly updated website: www.coolcos.eu
