None of this actually looking like traditional power stations. Like sculpture. Or, as German architecture firm Becker Architekten put it, like “a smoothed river of stone.”
This beautiful hydroelectric power station calls Kemper, Germany home. Turns out they wanted something special for their power needs:
The station substitutes a hydroelectric plant that dated back to the 1950s and supports 3,000 households with 10.5 million kilowatt-hours a year. At first, an engineering firm floated a perfectly good, perfectly boring replacement, but authorities scrapped the design in favor of Becker’s. Why? They wanted the riverfront to feel like a riverfront, not an industrial park.
Another way to look at this piece? As a stranded whale. Kind of makes you think. [Co.Design]
