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European Low-Carbon Vision by AMO

Roadmap 2050 : A Practical Guide to a Prosperous, Low-carbon Europe

13 Apr 2010

Roadmap 2050 – European Low-Carbon Vision

AMO PRESENTS VISION FOR A DECARBONIZED EUROPEAN POWER GRID TO EU LEADERS

Brussels, 13 April, 2010 – AMO. The research based think tank within the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), has extended its expertise in planning into the design of the future energy infrastructure of the EU as part of Roadmap 2050: A Practical Guide to a Prosperous, Low-Carbon Europe. The project, proposing an EU-wide decarbonized power grid by 2050, launches in Brussels today to an audience of European leaders.

Roadmap 2050 images © AMO

Roadmap 2050 is commissioned by the European Climate Foundation and is based on extensive technical, economic and policy analyses conducted by five leading consultancies: Imperial College London, KEMA, McKinsey & Company, Oxford Economics and AMO.

The project is based on European leaders’ commitment to an 80-95% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. The technical and economic analyses outline why a zero-carbon power sector is required to meet this commitment and illustrate its feasibility by 2050 given current technology.

The project then aims to chart a policy roadmap for the next 5-10 years based on the near-term implications of this commitment. Through the complete integration and synchronization of the EU’s energy infrastructure, Europe can take maximum advantage of its geographical diversity. The report’s findings show that by 2050, the simultaneous presence of various renewable energy sources within the EU can create a complementary system of energy provision ensuring energy security for future generations.

AMO contributed to the content development through the production of a graphic narrative which conceptualizes and visualizes the geographic, political, and cultural implications of the integrated, decarbonized European power sector.

Reinier de Graaf, OMA’s partner in charge of the project, said: ”In our profession there is a lot of talk about sustainability, but it is generally only dealt with at the scale of buildings. This project allowed us to address the issue at an entirely different scale. In the end, the planning of a trans-national renewable energy grid has a much larger impact and more widely shared benefits.”

The project builds on two foundational AMO projects: the Image of Europe exhibitions, commissioned by the Dutch EU Presidency in 2004 (which included the proposal for a composite “barcode” EU flag), and Zeekracht, a plan made in 2008 for a ring of offshore wind farms in the North Sea.

Roadmap 2050 will launch mid-day 13 April in Brussels. The full three volume report is available at www.roadmap2050.eu.

On OMA/AMO

The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is a leading international partnership practicing contemporary architecture, urbanism and cultural analysis. The counterpart to OMA’s architectural practice is AMO, a design and research studio based in the company’s Rotterdam office. While OMA remains dedicated to the realization of buildings and masterplans, AMO operates in areas beyond the traditional boundaries of architecture, including media, politics, sociology, technology, fashion, curating, publishing, and graphic design.

AMO’s clients include the European Union, Prada, Universal Studios, Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, Heineken, the Hermitage museum, Ikea, Condé Nast and Harvard University. AMO has produced exhibitions at the Venice Biennale and Venice Architecture Biennale, guest-edited issues of the magazines Wired and Domus. AMO is currently also working on two books: Al Manakh 2, a guide to the rapid transformation of the Gulf region,and Project Japan, an oral history of the Metabolist architects.

OMA is led by five partners: Rem Koolhaas, Ellen van Loon, Reinier de Graaf, Shohei Shigematsu and managing partner Victor van der Chijs.
Roadmap 2050 images / information from AMO

Location: Europe