Breathe

Project idea

Breathe is an industrial park intervention within the existing KIMA fertilizer facility in Aswan, designed to respond to a highly hazardous environment marked by air, soil, and water pollution. Without compromising the factory’s full productivity—which boosts Egypt’s maize and wheat fields by 40–50%—the project introduces a contrasting injected architectural system into an industrial toxic environment to neutralize damage. Through plant-based filtration, bioactive wall systems, and safe circulation routes, the intervention transforms toxic zones into functional, breathable spaces for workers and the public. It also embraces Aswan’s cultural identity by integrating community-centered and cultural programs throughout the site.

Project description

The project establishes a multi-layered environmental and safety rehabilitation strategy embedded within the existing industrial fabric of the Kima Fertilizer Facility. It begins with the implementation of secured emergency escape routes, integrated every 75 meters with pressurized safety nodes, ensuring protection for workers during toxic gas leaks or industrial accidents.

To mitigate air pollution, the intervention incorporates biofilter mesh walls aligned with the prevailing north-to-south winds, positioned to intercept and neutralize NOₓ emissions at the source. These walls are constructed with microbial-rich soil panels that actively degrade airborne contaminants. In parallel, chimney exhausts are retrofitted with biofilm-coated misting systems, significantly reducing fine particulate dispersion and ammonia vapor emissions.

To combat water contamination, a system of sloped surface runoffs and sealed channels directs factory water residue toward newly constructed biologically active wetlands adjacent to the Kima pond. These wetlands enable continuous natural filtration, lowering nitrate, ammonia, and heavy metal concentrations before water reaches natural bodies.

All new structures are composed of modular, reversible steel frames featuring double-skin façades made of compression-resistant clay components, which connect the biofilter walls to structural roof slabs. These façades are equipped with automated, tilting louvers that activate during emergencies, enhancing fire resistance and blast protection.

The intervention is topped by a functional ecological park, planted with phytoremediation species that continuously absorb pollutants while providing a safe, shaded, and productive public landscape. The entire system is designed to maintain 100% operational efficiency for the factory while maximizing environmental and human resilience.

Technical information

Environmental Performance (Estimated):
NOₓ emissions reduction: ↓ 70–80% via biofilter walls

Nitrate removal from water: ↓ 65–90% using wetlands and multi-stage biological filtration

Heavy metal containment: ↓ 60%, absorbed through gravel-based root mats and natural ion-exchange materials

Dust particle capture efficiency: ↓ 85% (PM10) and ↓ 60% (PM2.5) through electrostatic vertical mesh panels integrated at high wind-exposure points

Ammonia vapor neutralization (NH₃): ↓ 40–65% via clay-perforated compost barriers and microbial colonization in façade skins

Groundwater contamination risk: ↓ 70% with channels based closed water circulation and zero-discharge wetland endpoints

Escape time to nearest safe node (simulation-based): ↓ 40% from average evacuation benchmarks via grid-based routing

Modular adaptability of intervention zones: ↑ 100% reversible assembly for relocation or scaling based on shifting factory emissions