Valeria Golban

Year 2 MArch

TerraTHERM

Scottish Self Sustaining Heat Community and Energy Centre
Cononish Goldmine, Tyndrum, Scotland

TerraTHERM reimagines the disused Cononish Goldmine at Tyndrum as a self-sustaining heat network for remote Scottish communities. When the mine closed in 2023, its flooded tunnels began leaching waste into local rivers, posing serious environmental risks. TerraTHERM turns this liability into an asset: geothermal water trapped underground is pumped, filtered and circulated to warm homes, public buildings and greenhouses in neighbouring villages, while stabilising water levels and cutting pollution.

The initial proposal introduces modular extraction and heat-exchange infrastructure that residents can operate and maintain as an energy cooperative, re stimulating local skills, employment and energy resilience. With further investment, the post-industrial brownfield site evolves into an experimental settlement where clustered live-work units, research labs, and demonstration halls showcase low-carbon construction, closed-loop resource cycles and cooperative governance around a sustainable energy source.

Designed for incremental growth, TerraTHERM becomes a living laboratory where inhabitants test ideas, share knowledge and export renewable-heat strategies to other post-industrial landscapes. By converting a former goldmine into a catalyst for clean energy and community empowerment, the project charts a pragmatic path toward climate-adaptive, self-reliant rural futures.