08/20/2026
Excited to share some renderings from our latest project for Atura Power!
Smoke Architecture was contracted by Atura Power to design the Operations and Maintenance Building for the Napanee Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), located alongside the existing Napanee Generating Station in Greater Napanee, Ontario. The building supports the operation and maintenance of the battery storage facility, bringing together a large warehouse with adjoining office, meeting, and staff spaces. The project provided an opportunity to bring a considered architectural approach to a highly functional and technical building type.
The design moves beyond a typical industrial facility to create a building grounded in the history and character of the site. Inspired by the longhouse, the building’s elongated form and parabolic curved roof unify the warehouse and administrative spaces. The warehouse utilizes the familiar form of a Quonset structure, drawing from the agricultural and utilitarian buildings of the surrounding landscape. Exposed glulam structure brings warmth and a natural material expression to the office areas, creating a dialogue between the building’s Indigenous design influences, agricultural context, and contemporary industrial use.
Through its form, structure, materiality, and relationship to the landscape, the project creates a contemporary energy facility that acknowledges the layered histories of the land.
