Carlo Ratti Associati inserts a mock tokamak reactor into a historic gasholder at Maker Faire Rome

Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) and Milan-based architect Italo Rota have joined forces with Rome-headquartered global energy behemoth Eni to explore the carbon-free potential of magnetic confinement fusion energy at a pop-up exhibition installed at this year’s just-concluded Maker Fair Rome. The spherical pavilion is realized as an ersatz tokamak fusion reactor within Gazometro Ostiense, a landmark gasholder site in Rome. First conceptualized in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, tokamak fusion reactors are experimental magnetic confinement devices developed to produce controlled thermonuclear fusion.

Described by Eni as a “safe, sustainable and inexhaustible source of energy” that serves as a “breakthrough in the path to decarbonization,” magnetic confinement fusion has been at the core of multiple recent collaborations between the company and academic institutions including the Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where CRA founder Carlo Ratti is also director of the MIT Senseable City Lab. Eni has also collaborated with Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which was established in 2018 as a spin-off of the PSFC.

The educational exhibit–hosting mock tokamak reactor at Maker Fair Rome also marked the latest collaboration in a series of projects helmed by CRA and Eni meant to showcase emerging clean energy technology and promote the circular economy. Last year, the two partnered for Natural Capital, a large-scale data visualization project staged at Brera Botanical Garden during Milan Design Week that demonstrated the superlative carbon-capturing prowess of trees. Other collaborations between the two have included temporary buildings constructed from fungal biomaterials and bioplastic-producing orange juice-squeezing machines.

A CRA press release detailed the nuts and bolts of how the magnetic confinement fusion process works: “During the process of magnetic confinement, fusion of two hydrogen nuclei releases an enormous amount of energy, similarly to how it happens inside the sun and other stars. The most substantial advantage of this technology is that it does not emit greenhouse gases or highly polluting or highly radioactive substances. Furthermore, it is safe and virtually inexhaustible.”

“Magnetic confinement fusion is a clean technology that has the potential to be one of tomorrow’s key decarbonization solutions,” added Ratti. “With the project, we wanted to start an open-design process to imagine how fusion power plants will be integrated in sub-urban areas – prompting makers and architects alike to join a discussion on our future energy landscape.”

Once holding giant balloons that contained Rome’s gas supply, the four cylindrical, cast iron–framed structures that comprise the Gazometro Ostiense site were decommissioned in the 1960s when the city switched over to methane. Today, the industrial relics are enduring symbols of the Roman skyline and serve as a striking juxtaposition to the city’s wealth of ancient monuments; the tallest of the structures, a colossal cylinder reaching nearly 300 feet that ranks as the tallest gasholder in Europe, is often referred to as the city’s Industrial Colosseum. That structure was completed in 1937.

The three squatter structures adjacent to the site’s towering namesake Gazometro were designed by London-based Samuel Cuttler & Sons and  completed between 1910–1912. In England, hulking, Victorian-era structures designed by Samuel Cuttler & Sons for the purpose of storing gas have been converted into parks and repurposed for other new uses. Many are listed as historic landmarks.

During Maker Faire Rome, which hosted its 10th edition from October 7–9 at and around the old gasworks complex, attendees were allowed to access one of the three smaller gasholders, entering the faux tokamak via a winding ramp. Once inside the donut-shaped pavilion’s red-lit circulator corridor, visitors could learn more about the technology and its “ongoing scientific investigations” through a series of multimedia content.

“We have the chance to explore new forms of storytelling about energy,” said Rota, who served as co-designer of the installation. “We believe that design is a powerful tool to turn a narration into an experience, allowing visitors to sense the energy while being surrounded by a unique atmosphere.”

Carlo Ratti will deliver the keynote at AN’s upcoming Tech+ conference, a hybrid live-virtual event in New York City on October 21.  Click here to register and learn more.