A ‘Green Powerhouse' in Dubai

A little bit marketing splurlg and still to be tested in actual practical use, but interesting concept:

"The Dynamic Architecture building, which will be constantly in motion changing its shape, will be able to generate electric energy for itself as well as for other buildings. Forty-eight wind turbines fitted between each rotating floors as well as the solar panels positioned on the roof of the building will produce energy from wind and the sunlight, with no pollution. The total energy produced by this inbuilt ‘powerhouse' every year will be worth approximately seven million dollars."

"Each turbine can produce 0.3 megawatt of electricity, compared to 1-1.5 megawatt generated by a normal vertical turbine (windmill). Considering that Dubai gets 4,000 wind hours annually, the turbines incorporated into the building can generate 1,200,000 kilowatt-hour of energy."

"The horizontal turbines of the Dynamic Architecture building are simply inserted between the floors, practically invisible. They neither need a pole nor a concrete foundation. In addition, they are at zero distance from the consumer, making also the maintenance much easier. The particular design of the building and the carbon fiber special shape of the wings take care of the acoustics issues. Producing that much electric energy without any implication on the aesthetic aspect of the building is a revolutionary step in tapping alternative energy sources. This production of green energy will have a positive impact on the environment and economy."

http://www.dynamicarchitecture.net

Related to this, a novel idea for eliminating floor-envy in businesses. Reminds me, as also mentioned in the post of the Stairway I visited in a Loire Castle in France. It is strange how you never realise, once inside the spiral that there are two levels to it.

Read the post on the a 1D skyscraper with a single corridor here

Eco Auckland - The cold, hard facts

• Pollution from vehicles alone accounts for an estimated 250 premature deaths in Auckland every year.
• Every month the Auckland region creates enough rubbish to fill a rugby field to over the height of a 10-storey building.
• Each year over 85,000 tonnes of sediment enters our streams, lakes, estuaries and harbours. In Auckland, sediment is the biggest cause of shellfish die-off in estuarine environments.
• Auckland is the weediest city in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Only 12% of our total land area in the Auckland region is native forest. (this isn't that bad I think)
• The Auckland region has 56 threatened animal species and 105 threatened plant species.
• 80% of peak hour cars only have the one driver in them. (Count me in..)
• It is estimated that over 45,000 cigarette butts enter out harbour every day. Each year 25 million cigarette butts are washed into the sea. (people trowing their butts out the window while driving. grrrr)
• Every year over 1000 native fish are killed as a result of storm water pollution.
  
• New Zealanders use over 22 million plastic bags each week and about 800 million plastic bags a year, most of which end up in the landfill. Plastic bags will take 500 years to break down.

- Taken from citymix magazine, September 2006

Wind turbines & hair dryers

Would a move to renewable energy incite a change of lifestyle or a change of lifestyle lead a move to renewable?

Should we reconsider & redesign the process and products used for drying hair? It might allow for a large uptake in sustainable, micro-generation schemes.

Political myth-busting and making over at Daily Mail

From Expedition's blog, who comment:

Now I pose the question, do I a) be please that the online readership of the Daily Mail are discussing such issues, or b) scream at the simplistic understanding of these people?

On the Aesthetics of Wind Farms

An interesting discussion over at Design Observer on the Aesthetics of Wind Farms.

"What is beauty and how does it relate to ecology? A look at contrasting aesthetic intuitions about wind farms reveals a paradigm shift in how we understand beauty. Our sense of the nature of beauty cannot be separated from our sense of the beauty of nature."

"In nature, there is no distinction between function and ornamentation. The opposite of wholeness is not ornamentation but fragmentation. Ugliness is the perception of fragmentation. Alienation is a form of fragmentation."

Read the full article here

City of Sprawl

Electrified rail provides passenger movements equivalent to 7 lanes of traffic, with 10 times the peak capacity of current motorway systems!

It's frustrating most of the line is already in place, with electrification being of the essence for an effective modern system. While Wellington isn't quite as linear as Auckland, it's looking increasingly unlikely we'll soon see urban rail either.

Thanks for posting the videos, really worthwhile.

Here's an interesting debate between Tom Beard, and some local Rand-droids

Auckland : City of Cars - Episode 3

Auckland : City of Cars - Episode 2