What's the deal with Panchea?

In Deus Ex HR you travel to a cylindrical ocean structure which stretches all the way to the ocean floor. Is this structure in any way related to the plot, apart from being the enemy HQ? What is the point of this structure?

Solution 1:

Panchea is marketed as the first of many new structures to be built by Hugh Darrow to help cool the oceans to fix global warming, however, Hugh was lying to the public. While Panchea might have actually worked to cool the oceans (the game never specifies whether it actually could), the reason Hugh really wanted it built was to demonstrate that augments are bad and to get them banned by using his virus.

Panchea was secluded enough that he could have his demonstration running for long enough to really show the world how bad augments are without police etc interfering.

Solution 2:

The Panchaea facility is the first of several installations who's goal is to help regulate global temperature by modifying the ocean's temperature. The goal is to cool the ocean, grow the ice caps and combat global warming, which is considered a scientific fact in the time Human Revolution takes place.