Bjarke Ingels has designed a new power plant for the Swedish city of Uppsala, but in typical BIG fashion, swapped the traditional concrete power plant form for a rainbow-hued geodesic dome.

The Diamond Dome will house a new biomass cogeneration plant, which burns biomass to generate both electricity and steam.

However, the city only needed the plant to operate in winter to supplement the region’s existing energy infrastructure, leaving Ingels to find a way to turn the structure into something that could be used throughout the rest of the year.

According to DesignBoom, the Danish architect proposed the fusion of the plant with a greenhouse to create an “unconventional hybrid”. The resulting geodesic dome structure is distorted as it conforms to the shape of the machines it stores, and features a crystalline volume that creates visual interest for a space that can be used to stage shows, festivals and music events in the summer.

Essentially, energy infrastructure turns social with the change in seasons.

The geodesic façade will comprise clear coloured PV panels and classic coloured glass, with the facetted volume colour coded to reflect the amount of sun exposure on each facet and ranging from red to blue, hot to cold.

Thermal exposure truly becomes architectural expression with the Diamond Dome, which aligns with Ingel’s “hedonistic sustainability” ideal of designs being as luxurious as they are efficient.

Images: DesignBoom

Geraldine Chua

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