Energy storage facility in Crumlin, Wales

I began to explore the Sublime through exploration of the history of Crumlin Navigation Colliery. Similarities between writings on the Sublime and the coal mine came up when researching the rich history and visiting the site and experiencing the buildings for myself.
Crumlin Power showcases and pioneers alternative forms of energy storage which make use of the existing unique features of the site. The scheme also displays value through its public angle which allows users such as schools and researchers to observe and interact with the different technologies, bringing light to the need for energy storage in the modern world.

It was clear that the colliery and the Sublime were closely linked, and so the challenge became to determine how these concepts informed a new life and purpose for the former coal mine. I determined this as energy storge, a newly-necessary, though underrepresented, repercussion of our country’s increasing reliance on renewable power. It’s impossible to ignore the similarities to the Navigation’s previous life, where energy was stored in coal. It became important, however, to redefine its storage ability accounting for our current knowledge about fossil fuels, pollution and carbon, a sad by-product of what made the colliery what it was.

Crumlin Power stores energy through a variety of analogue storage methods which utilise the already existing structure of the colliery, such as the long mineshafts, flooded underground caverns and large industrial scale buildings. No ‘traditional’ electical batteries are used, which decay over time and are polluting and unethical to source - instead, power is stored through kinetic and potential means; lifting a weight, a raised hydroelectric reservoir and compressed air storage being just three. The scheme is future facing, pioneering these often new technologies on a small scale, allowing research, monitoring and exposure which could see them applied elsewhere throughout the country. An important strand to keep hold of was the role of the subject (or user) in the proposal, as without a witness, the Sublime cannot exist.
The proposition is consciously monumental, encouraging anyone who sees it, visiting the site or even driving past on the road, to ponder its purpose.

A sharp contrast to the weathered brick of the existing architecture, a new industrial Sublime emerges on site. Characterised by coloured steel, conspicuous mechanical processes and abundant chances for exploration and observation, the new fabric is a translation of energy storage into a new century, where a different set of challenges, priorities and ambitions dictate function and appearance. This facet of the Sublime is experienced through exposure to the details of the new mechanical processes on site, enlightening the subject to the scale and significance of the energy we produce, store and use.