Mapping the Great Machine A Design-Driven Perspective for Hydropower Infrastructure in Roveto Valley

Abstract

This contribution examines the spatial and design significance of hydropower infrastructure in the Roveto Valley (Abruzzo, Italy), a potential tool for regenerating mountain areas within the context of a national and international energy transition.

A cross-scale mapping — territorial, municipal, and object — frames hydropower as connective tissue across the valley, as an element of local identity in relation to villages, and as an architectural typology open to reinterpretation. The analysis highlights how water basins, penstocks, and especially power plants, can today act as catalysts for new cultural, social, and economic practices within the framework of the Liri River Contract.

By revealing overlooked relationships and spatial potentials, the mapping process informs strategies for reimagining hydropower infrastructure and envisioning prototypes adaptable to other European mountain regions.

Keywords: hydropower infrastructure, design-driven research, Roveto Valley