Exhibition

Transition and Gravity


Northern Hydrography as Peninsular Battery


XVII Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism

Dec 11, 2025—Mar 16, 2026
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Commissioned by
  • XVII Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism

Curators
    Ander Bados 
    Miguel Ramón

Research and design
    Roi Salgueiro Barrio
    Manuel Bouzas Barcala

Photographer
Sara Cuerdo
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Transition and Gravity places geography at the service of energy. The project proposes that the Northwest of the Iberian peninsula holds a latent territorial potential: to vertically integrate the synergies between wind and hydroelectric energy. This geographic design would address a critical obstacle to Spain's decarbonization: storing renewable energy surpluses through Reversible Hydroelectric Power Plants. Taken to its fullest extent, this approach would transform the Northwest—rich in wind and hydroelectric resources—from merely a production territory into a geography of storage: a vast territorial battery.

The project visualizes how three systems converge—wind, hydraulic, and topographic—to identify sites where reversible hydroelectric plants could be implemented. In these systems, wind energy surpluses that currently cannot be used or stored are channeled to pump water from a lower reservoir to an upper one. When energy demand peaks and wind production drops, the potential energy stored in the upper reservoir is released to meet demand.

Transition and Gravity reveals the distinct landscapes produced by this system, visualizing an environment where energy potential must be balanced with environmental stewardship. Photographs and maps demonstrate that within the energy transition landscape, the mirror of urban centers are vast zones of renewable energy that must be carefully designed. Realizing this territorial battery requires an Iberian storage plan that prioritizes landscape design, infrastructure value, and ecological preservation.

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