Paisajes de la energía marina. Un atlas energético del Meditarráneo.

Abstract

Energy infrastructure has significantly transformed territories throughout modern history. The current energy transition presents a major spatial challenge. The urgency of responding to climate change drives extensive spatial occupation by renewable energy infrastructures, extending even into the oceans. The threat of uncontrolled development across territories, with its significant potential to reshape landscapes, calls for innovative reflection in this field. In this context, marine energy infrastructure has emerged as a new sector for exploration, aiming to complement land-based technologies. However, the installation of offshore energy farms raises numerous conflicts with substantial spatial impacts. This work, presented through three research papers, addresses this issue by proposing a cultural approach to the energy sector, enabling architects to collaborate in these shared goals. To this end, the thesis develops a methodology for project integration from a cross-disciplinary and flexible perspective,acknowledging the synergies required in what has been, until now, a primarily engineering-focused field. The compendium of articles outlines a three-step approach: a critical review of the knowledge base, the study of three examples of existing marine energy infrastructures, and the proposal of three future energy project scenarios in the Mediterranean Sea. The overall objective is to offer strategies that reconcile technology, territory, and society through design, ultimately consolidated into a general methodology and spatial framework, suggesting a concept of "marine urbanism." Finally, an Atlas of Marine Energy in the Mediterranean Sea visually summarizes the thesis work.

Creating innovative and creative approaches for the energy transition is also a spatial challenge, where architects, urbanists and other professionals of design can contribute their unique perspectives to marine energy projects, making political decision-making processes more informed and committed to a holistic and culturally sensitive approach.