MVRDV’s Solar Rock Challenge Is a Constructed Manifesto for Renewable Power

MVRDV’s Sun Rock Project Is a Built Manifesto for Renewable Energy

MVRDV ‘s latest project designed for government-owned power company Taipower is “a tool for energy production”, communicating Taiwan’s goal of transitioning to green energy. The morphology of the project and its architectural image are entirely data-driven, the expression of the most efficient way of generating solar energy on the site. An operations facility comprising offices, a maintenance workshop, storage spaces, and a public gallery, the project is defined as a “built manifesto”, projecting the company’s aspirations for achieving a “carbon-free future”.

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Located in Changhua Coastal Industrial Park near Taichung, “Solar Rock”, a storage and maintenance facility for sustainable energy equipment, is designed to maximise solar energy production. The dome-like structure increases the area of the building exposed to the sun in the mornings and evenings, and the series of pleats along the façade are adjusted to maximise the energy-generating potential of the solar panels they support. The building would be energetically self-sufficient, and options are being considered to generate surplus energy to contribute to the grid.

Of course, we aim to make all of our projects as sustainable as possible. Yet we see that projects can go beyond just being sustainable in themselves. This project has unique and fascinating potential. “The user is an energy company, which has allowed us to do more than usual. We cladded the entire façade with photovoltaics, maximising the energy gains to make it not only self-sustainable for its own usage, but also allowing the building to become a tool of energy production, exporting electricity to the rest of the grid. This is achieved through a maximally efficient positioning of the panels. As a result, our design is completely data-driven. It’s always fun to see the results when you let analysis be the determining part of the design. – MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas

The atrium at the heart of the design would feature a series of displays illustrating data on the renewable energy the company generates. On the first floor, a gallery space provides views onto the maintenance workshop, while the top floor contains additional exhibitions spaces. The project juxtaposes utilitarian and gallery spaces, making the building an essential communication tool for the power company.

• Location: Changhua County, Taiwan
• Year: 2021-2024
• Client: Taipower Company
• Size and Programme: 12,900m2 – maintenance workshop, warehouse, Office Credits
• Architect: MVRDV
• Founding Partner in charge: Winy Maas Partner: Wenchian Shi
• Design Team: Hui-Hsin Liao, Daniel Diez, Mirco Facchinelli, Carolina Martin Peñuela, Chi-Yi Liao, Tseng-Hsuan Wei
• MVRDV NEXT: Yayun Liu Visualisations: Antonio Coco, Pavlos Ventouris, Jaroslaw Jeda, Emanuele Fortunati
• Co-architect: Y.C. Hsu Architect & Associates
• Contractor: Reiju Construction Co., Ltd.
• Structural engineer: Chih-Hung Kao
• Structural Engineer & Associates MEP: Chia Feng Mechanical & Electrical Corp.