ERG’s recent acquisition on Marmore’s complex gave us the opportunity to look at industrial hydroelectric structures and anthropic surrounding landscape with a new perspective.
Great products of human ingenuity, Valnerina’s hydroelectric power stations still maintain, after more than a century, their value as sustainable electricity production centres, now perfectly integrated into the territory whilst respecting the historical architecture and the important value of Marmore’s environment.
The project, developed into the 30s impressive architectural work of Galleto power plant, is staging an exhibition that links the monumental engine room (the former room of alternators turbines) with the former control centre, inside the complex built in the 70s.
Promoting the brand and the cultural identity of ERG, OBR’s goal is to enhance the building without interfering with the production cycle of the hydroelectric factory.
The exhibition tells the story of the Marmore Waterfall, which started in Roman times and culminated in the construction of Galleto Complex, detected today by ERG. A visual narrative, characterized by the staging of the naturalistic features of the Marmore Waterfall and its surroundings inside the majestic rooms of the complex in a way that the internal space can be perceived “open” to the territory.
In the engine room, 8 vertical blades (i.e. flags made of 10 meters high tissue) reproduce the fragmented image of the waterfall, conveying the beauty of the nature together with the strength of the streams that feed the turbines. In each span two vertical blades organize the exhibition space through thematic scenes that host the story-telling narratives of the hydroelectric complex.
The exhibition, through the implementation of charts and maps describing the renewable energy installations of ERG in Italy and in Europe, gives a clear image of the international dimension of the company, as well as its recent evolution from oil company to a major player in the production wind and water power.