In Northern Spain, a Light and Lambent “Cathedral of Energy”

From power plants to transformer stations, energy infrastructure tends to be an urban eyesore. What’s more, the environmental costs often remain staggeringly high, with coal and natural gas still accounting for approximately half of the global electricity output. It’s no wonder, then, that we so often try to put it all out of sight. Conversely, clean energy infrastructure should be something to celebrate. In the quaint Spanish town of Palencia, the striking 1,960-square-metre DH Ecoenergías hub does just that.

Designed by Madrid-based practice FRPO Rodríguez & Oriol, the landmark facility is situated some on the urban outskirts of the city — which is itself located some 200 kilometres north of the capital. Built to supply hot water to over 3,000 households, the building houses the nexus of a district heating network primarily powered by the biomass of Spain’s forests.

Constructed as the first in a planned series of similar hubs across the region, the complex serves double duty. While the building is foremost an active district heating hub where energy is gathered and harnessed into hot water (which then an underground network that spans part of the city) its aesthetically assertive — even iconic — scalloped frontage of ribbed polycarbonate and steel is an ornament with civic purpose. As the first facility of its kind, the building is also intended as an education hub, welcoming visitors and providing proof of concept for a nascent carbon-free energy transition. (To add a triple layer to the functions, the district energy program is itself a sort of conservation tool, illustrating the economic potential of forests).

According to DH Ecoenergías founder Teo López, “This project must be an icon and reference for energy and environmental transformation, and its architecture must symbolize the sources of renewable energies, the change of paradigm, and ultimately, the improvement of public health in cities.” In this sense, the architects describe the lantern-like transparency of the building as “both literal and symbolic.” Atop a simple concrete base, the eye-catching façade invites light — and views — into the building, creating a dialogue with public realm as well as more airy and inviting indoor conditions.

Inside, the pill-shaped form facilitates ease of circulation for tour groups, with the machinery taking pride of place at the centre of the room. Above the mechanical floor, a perimeter catwalk offers a full — and light-filled — view of the action below. It’s some ambiance. As the architects put it, it’s a “small cathedral of energy.”