‘Three Landscape Essays’ is a pilot project that tests strategies to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis in Southern Europe’s public spaces. They are on display in the main courtyard of the Conde Duque Center for Contemporary Culture in Madrid. Despite its potential as a meeting place for various users and neighbors, the monumental esplanade presents problems of thermal comfort: high temperatures caused by impermeable surfaces, lack of shade, and issues of scale, with a lack of spots in which to stop and rest, and no spaces for children to play and teens to get together in.

Now breaking up this huge square into smaller spaces are three islands or floating gardens, equipped with wheels to make them easy to move. Each presents a specific ecosystem referring to a particular strategy of resilience to different climate conditions.

Remote Island has a double tiered-seating area for events and a large neon sign powered by solar energy. Beneath the seating emerges a landscape with species imported from different latitudes and cultures, similar only in their resilience to our climate and producing flowers and fruits to attract insects and birds.

Endemic Island harbors a small experimental theater with a small tiered-seating area and a perimeter curtain, and grows species endemic to dry Iberian landscapes.

Finally, defined by a rough and dark material constitution of volcanic landscapes, Pyrophytic Island shows a gentle slope to be used interchangeably as a stage, an orchestra, or a resting area. Throughout its surface are masses of pyrophytic species. Some, like the rockrose, spontaneously combust under extreme conditions. Others, such as the strawberry tree or asphodel, are resistant to fire. This island is a space designed for children to explore.