Project Overview

Ningbo Yinzhou Domestic Waste Incineration Power Plant is located in the Environmental Protection Industrial Park of Dongqiao Town, Haishu District. As a benchmark project under Conhen Environment, it has a daily garbage treatment capacity of 2,250 tons (equipped with 3 grate furnaces each with a daily capacity of 750 tons) and an annual power generation capacity of approximately 290 million kilowatt-hours, serving a population of 3.34 million. Designed by the French AIA Architecture & Engineering Consortium, the project was completed and put into operation in June 2017. It has won the Luban Award, China’s highest honor in the construction industry, and is known as “China’s Most Beautiful Waste Incineration Plant” and the “Honeycomb Factory”.

Panoramic Application of U Glass

1. Scale and Material

- **Application Area**: Approximately 13,000 square meters, accounting for over 80% of the building’s facade.

- **Main Type**: Frosted U glass (translucent), with transparent U glass used in local areas.

- **Color Matching**: Bright color contrast of red and white, with white hexagonal decorative blocks dotted on the red-based background.

2. Design Inspiration

- The overall design adopts the “honeycomb” concept, inspired by the honey-making process of bees.

- The designers skillfully created a metaphor: garbage trucks → honey-gathering bees, garbage → pollen, incineration plant → honeycomb, and electric energy → honey.

- This “de-industrialization” design has successfully eliminated the negative image of traditional waste incineration plants, creating a modern landmark that combines industrial aesthetics with artistic temperament.

3. Spatial Distribution

- **Main Building**: A large area of frosted U glass is used in the lower area (including administrative offices, exhibition halls, etc.).

- **Flue Gas Purification Area**: The upper area adopts a transparent glass cover with a metal honeycomb surface, featuring lightness and transparency.

- **Functional Zoning**: The size of the honeycomb structures is adjusted according to the internal functional spaces. Large honeycomb structures are used on the exteriors of the truck unloading area, main control room, motor room, and museum to enhance recognizability.

 Design Details and Innovative Applications

 1. Honeycomb Facade System

- **Double-Layer Structure**: The outer layer is perforated aluminum panels, and the inner layer is U-shaped glass, creating a layered light and shadow effect.

- **Hexagonal Elements**: Red and white hexagonal decorative blocks are evenly distributed, enhancing visual rhythm and casting unique honeycomb-shaped light and shadow under sunlight.

- **Functional Response**: The size of the honeycombs varies with internal functions, meeting lighting needs while reflecting functional zoning.

 2. Light and Shadow Art

- **Daytime Effect**: Sunlight penetrates the U-shaped glass, forming soft diffused light indoors and eliminating the sense of oppression in industrial spaces.

- **Night Lighting**: Indoor lights of the building shine through the frosted U-shaped glass, creating a warm “lantern” effect and softening the coldness of industrial buildings.

- **Dynamic Changes**: As the angle of light changes, the surface of the U glass presents rich flowing light and shadow, endowing the building with aesthetic appeal that changes with time.

 3. Integration of Function and Aesthetics

- **”De-Industrialization”**: Through the lightweight texture and artistic treatment of U-shaped glass, the traditional image of waste incineration plants is completely transformed, turning the plant into a work of art that coexists harmoniously with the surrounding green mountains and waters.

- **Spatial Transparency**: The high light transmittance of U glass makes the internal space of the building appear open and bright, reducing the sense of enclosure and improving the working environment.

- **Environmental Symbolism**: The translucent U glass is like a “veil”, metaphorizing the transformation of the originally “unappealing” waste treatment process into the production of clean electric energy.

Technological Innovations in U glass Application

1. Curtain Wall System Innovation

- A multi-cavity structure design is adopted, with wind pressure resistance performance increased to 5.0kPa, adapting to the typhoon climate in coastal areas.

- Special joint design allows U glass to be installed vertically, obliquely, or in an arc shape, perfectly realizing the honeycomb curved shape.

 2. Coordination with Other Materials

- **Coordination with Metal Honeycombs**: U glass serves as the inner layer to provide lighting and privacy, while the outer perforated aluminum panels act as sunshades and decorative elements. Their combination creates a modern and rhythmic facade effect.

- **Coordination with Heavy Bamboo Materials**: In local areas, U glass is combined with heavy bamboo grilles to enhance the building’s sense of approachability and further reduce its industrial attributes.

 Application Value and Industry Impact

1. Social Value

- It has successfully overcome the “NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) effect” of waste incineration plants, becoming an environmental education base that is open to the public to demonstrate the harmless treatment process of garbage.

- The building itself has become a city card, enhancing the public’s perception of environmental protection infrastructure.

2. Industry Leadership

- It has pioneered the “artistic” design of waste incineration plants and is recognized by the industry as an innovative practice that is “unique in China and unparalleled abroad”.

- Its design concept has been widely adopted, promoting the transformation of environmental protection infrastructure towards “ecologically friendly and publicly acceptable” models.

 3. Technological Demonstration

- The successful application of U glass in large-scale industrial buildings provides a model for the promotion of energy-saving and environmentally friendly materials in the heavy industry sector.

- Its innovative curtain wall system offers a reference technical solution and construction standard for similar projects.

Conclusion

The application of U glass in Ningbo Yinzhou Domestic Waste Incineration Power Plant is not only a material innovation but also a revolution in industrial architectural aesthetics. Through the perfect combination of 13,000 square meters of U glass and honeycomb design, this plant—once a facility for handling urban “metabolic waste”—has been transformed into a work of art. It has achieved a dual metaphor of “turning decay into magic”: not only the conversion of garbage into energy but also the elevation of an industrial building to a cultural landmark.