A technical site is normally swaddled in greenery to prevent it from becoming an eyesore in the natural environment. The new Energinet.dk compressor station at Egtved is Denmark' first installation of its kind. And here the opposite is true.
The new gas plant has been designed as an architectural feature in the open landscape. The form of the buildings was also specially chosen in order to achieve optimum safety conditions at the plant.
The 'ramparts' around the compressor units consist of two parts: A simple concrete structure with a continuous grass surface forms the base which gives the building a landscape-like expression, and floating on top of this is a volume clad in a rust-coloured, facetted cor-ten steel skin. The cladding panels combine to form a varied pattern of light and shadow that makes the facade to appear lively. The combination of materials aims to make the buildings appear rugged and elegant at the same time.
The grass and iron-clad plant houses service buildings, including an emergency generator and storage rooms, and beyond the buildings lies the compression plant itself atop an open plane. The buildings are designed to provide visual, aural and safety screening from the compression units.
The plant consists of four compressor units and service buildings, supplying the central intersection of the gas pipelines connection north-south from Germany and east-west to Sweden.
This extension of the European gas system is aimed to be a decisive step on the road to a green energy system, which is projected by 2050 to use only renewable energy.