hurrengoa
a research centre project in lemoiz ekhiñe egiguren   I  elena castillo & ekhiñe egiguren The Lemoiz Nuclear Power Station lies in rolling green surroundings on the Biscayan coast between the villages of Bakio and Armintza. It has been abandoned since work on it was forced to stop in 1981. On more than one occasion talk of renovation, reuse and re-adaptation of the station has been the cause of some very serious polemic due to the legal difficulties of work of that nature -especially because of the interests of the Basque Government and the power station and due to the cut-backs in town planning. That said, it cannot be denied that some kind of scenic intervention that will restructure and bring the place back to life is necessary. Some new use of the buildings that will re-arouse interest in the place has to considered.
The most important elements amongst the gathering of reinforced cement buildings that make up Lemoiz are the two reactors and the premises that house the turbines are, and to the north, the fourteen-metre tall wall that separates the power station from the Cantabrian Sea. The Research Centre project aims to install a module that unites both a work place and living space in the pre-existing concrete landscape. On the one hand, there are plans for laboratories where research and investigation on new technologies will be carried out, and on the other, everyday living space for the fourteen members that make up that investigative team.
The new building is situated in front the turbine building and rests on thick cement walls that run parallel to the turbine building's façade. These walls were first conceived as foundations for giant cranes that reach the roof of the turbine building and that's why they take the shape of a comb at the base. This comb shape underlines two directions: parallel to the turbine building and the perpendicular. The Research Centre has been adopted to the walls that were there previously and uses them as foundations. These walls condition the structure of the centre.
The structure of the Research Centre, at all times respectful to the original cement walls, aims to relate the living space with the sea scenery and the high-rise cement whereas the work area faces into the interior of the station.
The outlandishly sized Lemoiz Nuclear Power Station's height/design/aspect underlines the transitory nature of any new building and with that in mind and with the understanding that any new intervention will always be on a lower plane, the structure of the Research Centre will be one that uses metal pillars and girders which can be easily assembled and taken apart by using the cranes that are already in place. All work will be dry as the materials for the job are all prefabricated.