Hours: Thursday from 10 am to 4 pm, Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 10 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm.
Photosynthesis as a fundamental energy transformation for life on Earth
From the antipodes to Igüeña, and from there to La Térmica Cultural.
A great mass of vegetation covered the mining basins of Bierzo and Laciana in the Carboniferous period. A forest formed by species such as Cyatheas or Dicksonias that took sunlight during the day and released it at night in the form of heat and usable energy. Millions of years later, this gave rise to rich coal deposits.
Photosynthesis is the energy channeling process needed by all living things. Sunlight is the fuel that feeds a collection of 30 arborescent ferns, unique in our country, which crowns this exhibition. An indoor garden that has colonized the old boiler room of Compostilla I, where now, thanks to the green fire, it retains its original function: to produce and store energy.
The new protagonists of this space are more than 300 years old and reach heights of up to 7 meters. These specimens were shipped from Australia and New Zealand in 2011 to the Ciudad de la Energía Foundation (CIUDEN) nursery in Pobladura de las Regueras (Igüeña, León). There they were kept in a controlled atmosphere greenhouse until their transfer to Compostilla in 2016.
Shrub species such as todeas, equisetum and others from Southeast Asia complement this surprising and unique ensemble. Climbing plants such as passionflower, up to 25 meters high, have invaded the walls and columns of the Sala Calderas, making it a place of contrast between the industrial structure of concrete and vegetation.
Along the route, you can also see two murals by urban artist Asier Vera that recreate the fauna of this prehistoric period.
This permanent exhibition occupies 739m2 and has a capacity for 600 people.
Augmented reality experience
To enjoy the augmented reality experience of Fuego Verde:
- Download the application.
- Select the language and allow the app to access your device's camera.
- Select 'Green Fire Experience'.
- Find and scan the four QRs in the Calderas room, and travel back in time! Each of them corresponds to one of the parts of the experience:
Intro, next to the elevator
Photosynthesis, towards the middle of the catwalk
Arborescent ferns, next to the English greenhouse
Living beings, next to the centipede mural
The artist
Jerónimo Hagerman
Jerónimo Hagerman (October 13, 1967 - February 9, 2023) was a Mexican graphic designer, photographer and interior designer. He dedicated a large part of his professional career to researching the relationship between humans and nature and capturing it in his work. This passion led him to collaborate with many architects in the creation of gardens, in which he confronts the viewer with the plants and animals of their particular universes in constant transformation.
This artist is responsible for the design of the Green Fire installation, for which he creatively integrated up to 50 different plant species.
