Wind turbines, formerly the “eyesores” of real estate developer chagrin, are coming into their own in the innovative new world of design and urban planning. The idea of an off-the-grid renewable power source for your home or city, along with the inspiring, simple elegance of the machines themselves, have recently prompted some cool new ideas that promote a sure feeling of restored hope. I’ve cataloged two of them below.
Design maven Philippe Stark has unveiled two new single-family windmill prototypes for the European market that he’s fittingly titled “Revolutionair.” At 2500 – 3500 Euro a pop, some critics say that the 1KW capacity of these turbines isn’t sufficient – that’s about 10 conventional lightbulbs at peak production, and probably only a couple lightbulbs on average if the wind ain’t blowin’. Good thing they’re beautiful to look at and a great conversation piece, who cares how well they work! If it’s Stark design it’s going to be folks who drop 3K on a lamp who are going to be making this particular investment for the time being (”Honey, sculpture or turbine? Turbine!”). Until the Ikea version comes out, there’s no harm in getting the wealthy and the design community inspired by the wind.
If Stark’s turbines are the small scale, what about urban-scale? Norwegian design firm On Office has announced their plans for Turbine City off the coast of Norway. At the base of each of the mega-turbines in this resort-at-sea is a museum, a posh dayspa, and lodging for eco-tourists who want to spend some time in the most futuristic place on earth. The whole city is built to operate on renewable energy – giving hope that there’s a future for eco-tourism that will help make “sustainable” sexy for all.
via Inhabitat
No comments:
Post a Comment