Tim Murphy

UNITY | REPURPOSED RELICS OF THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY

There are 184 offshore drilling rigs in the North Sea, making it the most active drilling region in the world. The lifespan of many of these offshore rigs is coming to an end, with retirement on the horizon due to dwindling fossil fuel reserves and a tilt towards renewable power by the energy corporations that own them. This information began my investigation into offshore drilling rigs and how potential architectural interventions could convert them into carbon neutral sites in contrast to their original purposes. UNITY was a direct answer to the question of conversion, and it is located on the Unity platform in the Forties oil field, located 110 miles east of Aberdeen in the North Sea. The main purpose of UNITY is as a carbon sequestration facility that promotes and pursues carbon neutral ideologies in service of this CO2 capture and storage and is sustained by a self-sufficient colony.