Barcelona to Build the World’s First Carbon-Neutral Indoor Ski Slope
Posted By Tafline Laylin On January 23, 2012 @ 9:39 am In Architecture,is it green,Renewable Energy,Urban design | 1 Comment
The designers behind Ski Dubai’s artificial ski slope [4], Snow World [5] and B01 Arquitectos [6], have teamed up to improve on their original design with the world’s very first carbon-neutral [7] indoor ski slope in Barcelona. If approved by Barcelona’s City Council, this new Snow World will be a component of the Zona Franca redevelopment project, which aims to transform a neglected industrial complex into a thriving residential area. Both the ski dome and housing area will be powered with renewable energy [8], while the extreme cooling necessary to maintain an artificial ski slope in a warm country will be achieved by harvesting the byproduct of converting liquefied natural gas back into its gaseous form.
The 39,000 square meter dome will house a ski slope and an ice skating rink and will be powered by 3 different plants that derive energy from methanisation, solar power [9], and plant waste. The adjoining residential homes will be powered in the same way. The Snow World ski project in Dubai produces a whopping 30,000 tonnes of snow a day, which requires considerable energy to stay cold. Rather than using standard air-conditioning, Snow World Barcelona will harvest the cool energy that is the byproduct of heating liquefied natural gas [10] in order to convert it into a gaseous state.
As Treehugger points out [11], it’s unclear whether that cool energy could be used for a more appropriate purpose than a ski facility along the Mediterranean Sea [12] – just 2 hours from the nearest outdoor ski slopes – and the Barcelona municipality has not placed this project on their list of priorities, but it does seem to have the potential to enliven a dilapidated area of one of Spain’s most vibrant cities.
Via Treehugger [11]
Article printed from Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building: http://inhabitat.com
URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/barcelona-to-build-the-worlds-first-carbon-neutral-indoor-ski-slope/
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[3] Email: mailto:?subject=http://inhabitat.com/barcelona-to-build-the-worlds-first-carbon-neutral-indoor-ski-slope/
[4] Ski Dubai’s artificial ski slope: http://www.skidubai.com/ski-dubai/photos/
[5] Snow World: http://www.snowworld.com/
[6] B01 Arquitectos: http://www.b01arquitectes.com/eng/intentions/industrialization
[7] carbon-neutral: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_neutrality
[8] renewable energy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy
[9] solar power: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power
[10] liquefied natural gas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquefied_natural_gas
[11] Treehugger points out: http://www.treehugger.com/infrastructure/barcelona-build-carbon-neutral-indoor-ski-hill-2015.html
[12] Mediterranean Sea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea
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