In our transition away from fossil fuels, it becomes necessary to find renewable energy solutions suitable for all facets of the built environment. We must stretch our imaginations to find creative and simple solutions – in this regard, there is much we can learn from the environment around us.
A dam maintenance and warehouse facility is not something one might think of as “energy efficient” or “integrated into its natural surroundings”; more often a picture of an empty, cold storage space comes to mind. However, in order to progress towards true energy resilience, we must redefine this mental image to include all types of industry and buildings.
Our challenge for this project was therefore to not only produce power onsite for our facility, but to find various ways that we might reduce energy consumption without using additional energy. We strive to implement these options without compromising the storage abilities of the warehouse, nor the function or structural integrity of our office and dam systems.