‘Energy as a Common‘ describes the vision of integrating the generation of renewable energy into our future everyday life through the conversion of old industrial sites.
Research into the natural hazard of wind in the canton of Valais pointed to the relatively low risk of storm damage in residential areas, though it lead to the problems associated with energy production in high-altitude regions.
As a response to the 700 wind turbines planned by 2050 - Switzerland currently operates 40 of them - a resilient architecture makes sense:
Taking into account the mountain and valley winds that prevail in the Rhone Valley as well as the Föhn and Bise, smaller vortex systems close to the ground with similar efficiency would be conceivable. The former oil refinery Collombey VS is ideal as a possible location for such plants.
The design describes the gradual redesign and dismantling of the old building resources using existing building elements and transfor- ming the infrastructure into a center for renewable energy and recycling, which is to be preserved as a public park and memorial.
The newly designed park and recycling facility is accessed through the former pipe system as a viaduct and colonnade, and individual tanks are converted into public buildings such as cafés, museums and theaters, while others are supplemented with the appropriate infrastructure as workshops or warehouses for building materials and raw materials.
The overpass running across the facility will be supplemented with a bridge over the Rhône in order to open up this area for local recrea- tion.
The generation and storage of renewable energy in the form of vortex wind turbines and the storage of zero-emission fuels are planned along the outer longitudinal axes and will be connected by connecting the existing thermal power plant with the incinerator to the south.
The interweaving of settlement areas with industrial locations is intended to raise awareness of resources and help existing infrastruc- ture to achieve durability in architecture through new forms of use and development.
