Mountain Impression: A Power Plant That Merges Art and Engineering

United Units Architects' Award-Winning Design Echoes Nature in Industrial Setting

Mountain Impression is a power plant situated against the backdrop of undulating karst mountains. The design language of the factory building is drawn from its natural context. The north of the site features a bare plateau, flattened by the mining activities of a cement factory. To respond to the nature and memory of the site, the facade of the building features a pattern of an undulating mountain range. This design aims to visually remedy the damage to the mountains by human impacts, evoking a sense of self-examination of human activities.

The pattern of the mountain range is derived from the combination of four sets of trigonometric function curves through parametric design. This mathematical control not only ensures the smoothness of the curve but also provides parameters for design development. The manipulation of the colour, texture, and form of the facade endows the building with a dynamic aesthetic that changes with the viewing angle, light, and weather. This sophisticated design approach reduces the impact of the building's vast volume on the environment.

The power plant operates by allowing garbage trucks to enter the factory building along a ramp and unload to the enclosed garbage pit for fermentation. The fermented garbage is then sent to the incinerator. The flue gas generated by the combustion of garbage is purified and discharged into the air; the fly ash is disposed of for landfill, and the bottom ash can be comprehensively utilized. The thermal energy generated by waste incineration is used to heat high-temperature steam to drive the steam turbine generator set to generate electricity, which is connected into the national grid.

The project, which started in January 2020 and was completed in August 2022, is located in Nanning, China. Known as China's Green City, Nanning is a frontier city for China's opening up and cooperation with ASEAN. The rich folk culture in the multi-ethnic inhabited area and the mountains in the karst landform area together constitute the resource of design language belonging to Nanning. The design team hoped to build a waste-to-energy power plant that eliminates the Not In My Backyard effect and allows the public to accept and even love it, so that the advanced waste treatment technology can operate smoothly.

The design team faced the challenge of achieving a balance between radical and conservative design approaches. The distinctive regional environment stimulated bold ideas, while the large-scale infrastructure project carrying social responsibilities required careful decision-making. The team realized the poetic design concept with rigorous engineering rationality, creating a state-of-the-art factory where art and engineering come together as one. This innovative approach earned the design a Golden A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2023, a prestigious accolade granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom.