BIG Envisions Multi-Purpose Biomass Power Plant in Sweden

As you find yourself filled with curiosity, peering through the windows of a geodesic dome, its aesthetic value goes unchallenged. However, its level of functionality in relation to indoor agriculture remains questionable. Amidst the uncertainty on the validity of such structures, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) envisioned their scheme for a “biomass cogeneration plant” within a geodesic dome for the city of Uppsala, Sweden. During the colder months, the power plant will employ technologies with the potential to generate energy by converting biomass waste into heat, electricity, and biofuels through combustion or other conversion methods. It will serve to entertain in the summertime.

The transparency of the enclosure is an inviting aspect of the power plant that is typically nonexistent in this kind of facility - it communicates a rare level of public education and community engagement for this typology. Although still in the idea phase, it’s an exciting vision of how future energy production might look. 

The city of Uppsala invited BIG to design a biomass cogeneration plant that would offset its peak energy loads throughout the fall, winter and spring as part of an international competition (ultimately won by Liljewall Arkitekter). Home to Scandinavia’s oldest university and landmark Uppsala cathedral, the plant proposal’s biggest challenge was to respect the city’s historic skyline.

Considering the project’s proposed seasonal use, BIG envisioned a dual-use power plant that transcends the public perception; in the summer months, the “crystalline” proposal was designed to transform into a venue for festivals during the peak of tourism.

“By harnessing the economies of scale associated with greenhouse structures it is possible to provide a 100% transparent enclosure to provide the future massive silhouette on Uppsala’s skyline with an unprecedented lightness while allowing the citizens to enjoy educational glimpses of what happens within. Rather than the conventional, alienating hermetic envelope of traditional power plants, the crystalline volume serves as an invitation for exploration and education. The next generation of creative energy.”

“BIG’s design proposal fuses two conventional industrial archetypes into an unconventional hybrid: the plant and the greenhouse. Both have been developed to provide a rational and efficient form of enclosure to massive industrial facilities: for manufacturing and agriculture respectively,” stated the practice in a press release.

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Tagged: #greenhouse #dome #geodesic dome #biomass #power plant #bjarkeinglesgroup #sweden #cogeneration #venue #festivals #energy production #sustainability #hybrid #architecture #bjarke ingels