The processing of wood into charcoal – pyrolysis – was the basis for the production of iron, which, among other things, led to a population boom in the northern, colder regions of Europe.
Today, biochar, with the excess energy accompanying the pyrolysis process and through the long-term
binding of carbon in concrete or arable soils, can contribute to reducing CO2 in the atmosphere.
And although the kilns used in this new pyrolysis plant are not mounds of earth in the forest,
but fully automated steel cylinders, the building is intended to remind us of the humble origins of coal production, which has also contributed to today's climate problem.
For fire and noise protection reasons, the building is mainly made of concrete. What is special about this concrete (www.klark.swiss) is the addition of biochar in an amount that offsets the CO2 produced during concrete production.
The overall form of the plant consists of two open-top cuboids, primitive enclosures formed from concrete slabs. One contains the raw material bunker and the offices above it, the second the charcoal kilns and the electricity turbine.
The wooden roofs, which had to be installed after the walls in order to allow large elements of the machines to be brought in from above, are recessed behind these wall panels and invisible from the outside. Individual adjacent wall panels were decoupled from each other in terms of height as a reference to imperfect functional architecture. The freestanding nature of individual walls was accentuated by incisions at the connections.
Only the exposed concrete walls of the offices were embellished with board formwork in a herringbone pattern matching thex charred wood façade of the neighbouring malt house .
The building was placed within the plot in such a way that an extension of the facility will be possible in the future.