concept rendering of the 'sanya skypump' wind-powered charging station for electric vehicles, developed by urban green energy and GE developed by urban green energy in collaboration with general electric, the 'sanya skypump' is a wind-powered charging station for electric vehicles.
the device combines a GE 'wattstation' with an urban green wind turbine, capturing up to 4kW of wind energy. standing 13 meters (42 feet) tall, the 'skypump' can be easily installed in parking lots, rest stops, and other areas. it is equipped with an LED light (raised 7 meters or 23 feet from the ground), and even when a vehicle is not plugged in, the turbine continues to operate, feeding energy back into the grid.
the companies will also produce a model of 'skypump' for home use, that utilizes GE's wall-mounted 'wattstation'. GE estimates that the 'wattstation' recharges most electric vehicles to completion within four to eight hours, although there is not yet information on whether the 'sanya skypump' will offer similar efficiency. the 'sanya skypump' closer view of wind turbine closer view of 'wattstation' base placement renders via inhabitat via engadget via designboom
located in upstate new york (USA), the rochester institute of technology (RIT) is a private university whose eight internal colleges offer a range of degrees across arts, design, business, and engineering. designboom had the opportunity to visit the RIT school of design, part of the university's college of imaging arts and sciences (known as CIAS, which also encompasses programs in art, american crafts, photographic arts and sciences, film and animation, and print media) to offer our readers a firsthand look at the school's industrial design program and a range of campus design initiatives.
characteristic of the culture at CIAS is an innovative, self-motivated spirit, highly encouraging of interdisciplinary collaborations and independent pursuits in coursework, on campus, and in the community at large. structured into both the curriculum design and the physical structures of the campus, the culture of the RIT industrial design program encourages independent exploration and cross-disciplinary collaboration. students are frequently approached for opinions and suggestions in the development of new programs and spaces, and are encouraged to pursue their own initiatives, whether it involves an independent design project or the reorganization of shared studio and seminar spaces to better facilitate course needs.
RIT's 19,000-square-foot vignelli center for design studies, developed with massimo and lella vignelli as a living archive of their work, serves as a physical embodiment of this creative environment: a multiuse hub for design education, scholarship, and research.
in addition to extensive archives of the vignellis' work, the building features an administrative gallery, two floors of exhibition space devoted to the vignelli's graphic and furniture pieces respectively, as well as open seminar space, creating an environment that is as easily accessible to students as it is encouraging of research and collaboration. even the halls and stairwells of the building are filled with remnants from previous exhibitions of designers' and student works.
the center was designed as not solely archives and museum and gallery space, but also to facilitate design programming, discussions, seminars, and collaboration
as part of the same project that brought the vignelli center to fruition, renovations to the james e. booth building have brought a new administrative gallery and new crafts facilities to the schools of design and crafts.
with studios as diverse as glassblowing, woodworking, and metalsmithing, the building facilitates cross-communication across artistic disciplines; in their production practice, industrial design students frequently collaborate with artists and craftsmen to produce one-off pieces. the building also boasts one of over ten industrial-level printing centers on campus, capable of printing on canvas and other materials and on extremely large scale. students in the engineering departments have hand-built a number of 3D printers that design students may also use for project development.
the open, creative culture is brought from within the design department out to the greater student body and public through initiatives like the RIT innovation center, located next to the campus's 'global village' center just a short walk away from the design buildings. opened in 2009, the RIT innovation center is designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, providing project space, mentorship, and support to students, who can receive workspace and funding from the program by proposing their project idea and budget.
the interior of the platinum LEED-certified building is reconfigurable, utilizing movable walls and modular furniture to adapt the space to a range of presentation and project development needs. small workspace and exhibition areas frame a central auditorium space used for presentations by guest speakers and students and faculty from across RIT's eight schools. previous projects developed or produced in the space range from the 'strong arm lifting system', a garment designed by undergraduate students sean petterson and justin hillery to assist workers in the raising of heavy objects, to a playful installation by visiting balloon artist larry moss.
design innovation is not limited to the campus itself, as the school of design studies immerses students in public exhibitions and professional collaborations as an integral part of their studies. the vignelli center's 'dialogues in design' program offers intensive summer workshops in provence, france, taught by designers like massimo vignelli, armando milani, and george lois; and over the course of the coming year, the vignelli center will acquire lois's archives, the 37th addition to the school's collection of iconic modernist graphic design materials.
closely associated with the italian research center fabrica, RIT sends students to visit the organization's italy-based labs, participating with them in interdisciplinary projects through vignelli center initiatives.
other previous projects across the RIT design coursework have included as collaborators the royal college of art in london and the rochester general hospital system, with the school looking to firms like braun and the george eastman house for future collaborations. last spring, industrial designer josh owen brought six RIT undergraduate students to showcase their work during new york design week at 'metaproject 01', a highly regarded exhibition that grew from a course owen taught in conjunction with wilsonart surfacing manufacturers. originally titled 'surprise', the 20-week course was only described to students after enrollment, and the 20 seniors used wilsonart laminate materials to design and fabricate prototype seating.
the annual spring festival 'imagine RIT' invites students to simply 'showcase what you do', in a campus-wide exhibition that drew 33,000 attendees this year. the extensive campus libraries occasionally purchase and exhibit student work, maintaining digital archives of its production and keeping the pieces in their permanent records.
constantly growing, the RIT school of design plans to offer in 2013 a new master of science degree program in design studies, focusing on the history, theory, and critical analysis of design. designer and RIT professor josh owen notes that the new initiatives in industrial design of the coming years 'won't be about reinventing existing pedagogy, but building upon the powerful design culture that's already here.'
a poster series by the vignelli center, designed by bruce ian meader and roger remington, highlights the six-point mission of the building and its initiatives
as climate change continues to wreak havoc on the planet, people are seeking more efficient sources of renewable energy. while new technologies are developed each year to combat the issue, one ancient source of energy continues to surpass them all. that’s right, wind power continues to be one of the most cost-effective and efficient sources of sustainable energy available. however this simple technology has been perfected over the years and new and improved models continue to emerge. here is a look at the state of wind power today, from the biggest most ambitious projects to small and humble designs for personal use.
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loopwing
the straight wing wind turbine design is by far the most ubiquitous, but the ‘loopwing’ surpasses it is capturing energy from light winds. this japanese design also takes up less vertical space than the conventional form. its unique blade design operates with very little vibration increasing its efficiency, achieving 43% power performance at a wind speeds of 8m/h. the design is intended to be used for small scale power generation, rather than large-scale wind farms. the ‘loopwing’ was also a winning entry in the 2006 good design awards.
like the ‘loopwing’, the ‘energy ball’ is a small scale wind turbine designed for home and commercial use. the design is manufactured by the swedish company home energy. the design uses the venturi principle to funnel wind within the turbine’s blades, allowing the machine to operate with high efficiency and low noise. the turbine uses a set of six curved blades that spin around the center axis to create a sphere. because the blades are able to funnel a large amount of wind into a smaller area, the ‘energy ball’ remains efficient in low wind scenarios.
manufactured by broadstar, the ‘aerocam’ wind turbine aims to provide a large wind catching surface in a compact volume. the design features a series of long blades arranges around a circular frame, similar to a water-wheel. the blades catch the wind and spin the turbine around a horizontal axis.
the design is suited for personal as well as wind farm applications and claims to be the first turbine to break the 1 usd/watt cost barrier. the device also has a low rotational speed to keep noise levels down.
the product could be a viable alternative to the high cost of traditional flat-blade turbine’s but it remains a prototype at this point.
like the previous examples, ‘helix wind’ is a wind turbine designed to operate at low speeds.
the ‘helix wind’ features a unique sail-like form that catches the wind over a broad surface area from all directions. this form allows the electric generator to spin with a smooth and powerful force. the design can be installed at lower heights than most wind turbines because of its form and can be used both on and off grid. the vertical spinning axis helps keep noise low and the compact size is ideal for urban areas as well as more rural. additionally, because the scoops are more solid than individual blades, birds and other wildlife are much safer.
while we are all familiar with ground level wind turbines, but it may surprise you to know that these designs are only 20-25% efficient. the magenn air rotor is a prototype wind turbine that is made from an inflatable blimp. the helium filled blimp floats in the air at 600-1000 ft, tethered to the ground. because winds are much stronger at higher altitudes, the air rotor can operate at closer to 50% efficiency. the air rotor generate several megawatts of power and runs cheaper than grounded designs.
up until now wind turbines have always been installed as individual units, but doug selsam is an american inventor who developed a method for joining multiple turbines together. while normal turbine designs are big and powerful, they are also expensive and difficult to install. selsam took a smaller approach, linking multiple rotors onto the same shaft. this idea allows small and inexpensive designs to be deployed, that aren’t as powerful as the big ones, but quite efficient. each rotor captures wind increasing the efficiency of the whole and if aligned correctly can use one tenth the material to produce the same wattage as the big boys. popular science magazine even named the ‘sky serpent’ the invention of the year in 2008. selsam is now conceptualizing ways to deploy his design on a larger scale like open sea water.
like the magenn air rotor, the flying electric generator by sky windpower is a flying wind turbine which takes advantage of the increased wind speed at high altitudes. the flying electric generator aims to literally go higher than the magenn, floating at upwards of 30,000 feet from the ground.
the design is deployed at this height to capture energy from the ultra-powerful jet-stream winds.
the device weighs around 1,100 pounds and could produce energy at around 2 cents /kwh.
the design features four horizontal rotors which are all mounted to a frame and tether to the ground.
sky windpower envisions even large models to be used as floating wind farms.
while some wind turbines go big and some go small, agustin otegui’s go nano. that’s right, the mexican designer has created wind turbines at a nano scale. ‘nano vent skin’ features a series of micro turbines combined together into a fabric that can be deployed in a variety of applications like on buildings or vehicles. while each turbine only generates a tiny amount of power, the net effect is huge, equaling that of bigger turbines. the simplicity and small size allows the design to be deployed almost anywhere similar to solar panels.
GROW is a hybrid source for sustainable power, gathering energy from both the wind and sun through its ivy-inspired design. The project combines photovoltaic and piezoelectric technologies into one system that can be fully monitored by the user. The cell-like design allows the system to be installed on the exterior of buildings, adapting easily to the building's typology. It is manufactured using recycled and reclaimed materials whenever possible to minimize its environmental impact. SMIT, the sustainable design start-up behind the GROW project has been working on it for over two years and is currently working toward a market-ready version.
the conventional wisdom is ‘the bigger, the better’, but the ‘hy mini’ proves maybe small has its place.
unlike the other turbines we have highlighted, the ‘hy mini’ takes a decidedly smaller approach to wind power. the handheld device uses a small plastic fan blade to generate a small amount of power, which is sufficient to power small gadgets like your phone or mp3 player. the device has a small battery inside which stores the power generated by the fan and makes it available to your electronics. the fan can be blown in a number of ways like walking, biking or just waving it around in the air.
designed by architect michael jantzen, the ‘wind tunnel footbridge’ is a conceptually idea for a wind power generator that is more than just a turbine. the design uses a series of horizontal wind turbines similar to the ‘aerocam’ model, except it arranges them around a footbridge. the design is able to generate wind power but at the same time allows pedestrians to cross the bridge. the bridge would be made from steel and aluminum and feature five wheels which would turn in two directions, three one way to two the other.
while michael jantzen’s wind tunnel footbridge takes wind power to a new level, a number of new buildings are going a step further by integrating wind turbines into their design. the ‘bahrain world trade center’ is one building using power from embedded wind turbines. it was completed last year and features three massive 29m turbines installed between its two towers. these turbines now produce around 10%-15% of the structure’s power.
in london, a new residential tower in the city’s elephant & castle neighbourhood is being construction, which had three large turbines embedded in its peak. the eco-forward development aims to regenerate the area with its design. the peak will hold three 9m turbines that when combined with a grey water recycling system and a district heating scheme, will make the development one of the city’s most sustainable when it is complete.
much like the inclusion of wind in buildings, there is also a growing trend toward wind powered land vehicles. however this technology is rather new and won’t be in a dealership anytime soon, if ever.
one of the leading examples is a prototype vehicle called the ‘greenbird’. this super aerodynamic car owns the title of the fastest wind powered vehicle on earth. its bullet like design can be used on both dry land and ice. by using solid sails to capture the wind, the vehicle can accelerate to speeds 3 to 5 times higher than the actual wind.
not to be outdone, mercedes benze has designed their own wind powered land vehicle. ‘formula zero’ is a shiny shark like vehicle which was designed for the los angeles challenge, a car race that takes energy efficiency into account. the design not only features a large solid sail, but also a solar panel skin which helps drive sustainable energy to the wheels.
