Architecture studio FRPO has designed DH Palencia, a thermal power plant in Spain consisting of a concrete base topped by a lantern-like building and an adjacent tower.
Located in Palencia, the 1,960-square-metre building is the focal point of the city's new heating network.
DH Palencia converts heat energy into electricity
It converts heat energy into electricity using renewable sources, including biomass from local forests, and makes the process visible to educate the public.
FRPO drew on the concept of energy and economic circularity when designing the pill-shaped building, which has a base made from concrete poured in situ and reinforced concrete floor slabs.
The Spanish power station has a pill-shaped plan
"The rounded shapes connect with the ideas of a circular economy, but also with the cycles of energy and the movement of people ? as if it were the ambulatory of a cathedral ? which are the most important part of our design," studio co-founder Pablo Oriol told Dezeen. "Our intention when designing this plant has been to move away from any previous reference to the idea of ??an energy production plant."
Its concrete base was poured in situ
The base of the power station, which the studio described as a "bathtub of heavy concrete", supports the building's machinery and sits above an underground biomass silo.
Above it, the studio used steel and plastic to construct a translucent ribbed facade. This creates decorative contrast against the con...