Yes please!!!
Nothing says ‘I’m comin’ home’ to us East Midlanders more than that first glimpse of those iconic cooling towers at Ratcliffe on Soar Power Station all hazy on the horizon.
And to help come up with ways to preserve them for posterity and ensure that ‘coming home’ experience never truly disappears, a Nottingham-based architectural assistant has been working with AI to whip up a series of redevelopment concepts for the now out of use landmarks.
The site was closed in September 2024, marking the end of the UK’s 142-year reliance on coal-fired power generation and is now the subject of consultation by Rushcliffe Borough Council, which is considering changes to its local development order to enable data centres.
@stuckinthemiddleem What we gonna do when these are gone? 😭 Video: @emilylou2006 #eastmidlands #fyp #ratcliffeonsoarpowerstation ♬ original sound – stuckinthemiddle
Qasim Iqbal, an architectural assistant at Nottingham practice CPMG, has developed AI-generated concepts that also explore alternative uses for the site.
His proposals include repurposing the cooling towers as performance venues, building on recent music events held there.
Iqbal said: “The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station is an iconic piece of architecture in Nottinghamshire. Using AI, we’ve been able to gain incredible insight on what its future may really look like.
Qasim’s AI designs for the site amplify the potential that the existing cooling towers have as performance venues – using their unique acoustic qualities. This idea builds on recent activity at the power station, in which musicians have utilised the towers for musical performances for the first time.
This approach positions the power station not simply as a relic of industrial heritage, but as a future cultural destination – blending history, performance and experience.
