Hontomín, Burgos, Spain

Centro de Interpretación de la Planta de Desarrollo Tecnológico de Almacenamiento Geológico de CO2 en Hontomín, Burgos

The Energy City Foundation plans to build an Interpretation Center to publicize the project of Geological Storage of CO2, a new project which is one of the main mechanisms in the fight against global climate change. It is intended that after visiting the Center, people has learned how Co2 affects the planet, the solutions that arise, the reasons for storing CO2 and overall operation of the Co2 Storage Plant at Hontomín and also has experienced feeling of having been inside the earth and having watched direct injection of CO2.

The ideas competition, as support to Technology Development Plant for CO2 Geological Storage, begins from the choice of position for the Center in the adjoining hillside from which you will have visibility over the plant.

The building is located in the central position of the plot, 5 meters over Technology Development Facility (PDT) level, to enjoy a complete view for a better understanding.

Faced with the extension in the landscape of the PDT, the Interpretation Center minimizes its physical presence becoming partially buried in a volume that appears as a shaded horizontal line in the landscape of the hillside. The roof gardens help to reduce the presence of the Center while holding the main presence of the plant PDT.

Part of the roof is in turn walkable and accessible from the side ends of the building allowing visitors to walk through the network of trails. Therefore, the building comes from the skills of the level line to the height chosen so that it becomes, in the process of geological storage of CO2, in one of the stratum

This way the green roof tends to recover the “footprint” of the building, offsetting the deterioration of the land occupied, returning to the landscape on the cover

In front of the Visitors Center, using blown up roof of the building, it´s generated a covered but open space that serves as a prelude to educational presentations about the museographic contents below.

This is a recreational area that also serves as meeting and contemplation point of the plant, which may give greater capacity to inside cafeteria expanded as an outdoor terrace.

The distribution of a single storey building to minimize the necessary earthworks and alter as little as possible the field, while facilitating the accessibility and functionality of the building. Also, lets you arrange direct access to the building and intuitive while in turn facilitates the guidance and evacuation in case of emergency. The building has been fitted with a linear store to service all rooms, in clear distinction between servers and served spaces, with the formalization of a band ancillary service, which makes the inner works easier.

The south facade, most exposed to direct solar radiation, has a system of slats of recycled wood, ie wood used in construction, will be recovered to provide sun protection to the glass facades, also creating an interesting texture from a compositional point of view, while allowing this material to understand the elevation in continuity with the natural landscape surrounding the building.

In museological content explains how the CO2 is captured in the industrial plants, how is transported to the storage area; how it is injected at depths below 800 meters, into a highly porous and permeable rock, called “reservoir” rock, which is capped by another, impermeable, “seal” rock that prevents its leakage towards the surface .

Europaconcorsi Beta

Centro de Interpretación de la Planta de Desarrollo Tecnológico de Almacenamiento Geológico de CO2 en Hontomín, Burgos