Convert all coal-fired power plants located in Italy into environmentally sustainable facilities: this is the goal set by Enel – Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas – by 2025. On conclusion of the competition “New Energy Spaces”, set up by the company last July, the winning project was announced for the transformation of the Andrea Palladio power plant in Fusina (Venice). The project by Frigerio Design Group, “Resilience Lab Grid”, was selected by a committee made up of representatives from Enel, the University of Venice IUAV, and the City and County of Venice, according to criteria based on environmental and social sustainability, technological innovation, design and visual impact.
The architectural study of the Resilience Lab Grid proposes a paradigm shift in the collective perception by transforming the plant into a positive example for ecosystem regeneration and protection. Frigerio Design Group created a shared space, open to the public and the community, where activities focusing on sustainability and environmental intervention are promoted to stimulate regeneration and environmentally sustainable, besides social and cultural development for the area. At the same time, the architectural elements are integrated into the territory: the complex is designed to appear visibly dynamic and light in relation to the surrounding landscape.
The intervention envisaged by Frigerio Design Group is inspired by the “fractal”, a natural geometric element, whose form does not vary when changing the scale of length. Based on a feasible and modular system, the new buildings will be of different sizes according to their function; however, they will share the same features. The core generator and control room of the entire system is the Enel Pavilion, a place for reception, information and promotion for corporate values: environmental sustainability, circular economy and innovation.
The architecture is located in an environment where the lagoon borders the countryside, between water and land, and the project is inspired by the natural matrix of the area. “Patterns” of fields and cultivated lands are reinterpreted abstractly into geometrical elements enveloping buildings and plants. An additional element to blend with the lagoon is vegetation. It is inserted into the project as a junction between the industrial complex and the natural environment. Reviving the lagoon landscape with its evocative sandbars becomes an opportunity to illustrate the territory and include it in an educational context.
For further information, please visit www.frigeriodesign.it.
CREDITS
Location: Fusina, Venice
Client: ENEL Produzione SpA
Project: Frigerio Design Group
Collaborators: E. Frigerio with M. Verdona, S. Rota, M. Roberto, W. Larteri, F. Valido, A. Chiappini
Consultants for environmental and socio-economic strategy: T. Georgiadis and L. Cremonini Istituto per la BioEconomia IBE-CNR
Landscape: Openfabric
Technical Systems: Tekser ingegneria
Dates: contest in July 2020, allocation May 2021
