Innovation is a beautiful thing- but it isn’t always pretty. Advances in energy production and distribution can provide added convenience and comfort to our lives, but the assemblies can be eyesores upon the landscape. The wind turbine for example can appear garish upon a tranquil landscape. A new wind energy concept, the Windstalk, attempts to create an energy source that is not only renewable but beautiful. Establishing a connection between technology and nature, the Windstalk transforms energy production into a work of art.
The Windstalk was initiated by the New York design firm Atelier DNA for an international competition held by the Land Art Generator Initiative, an organization that promotes the construction of installations that serve not only as sources of large scale renewable energy but also as public art displays.
The designs were to be created for one of three possible tourist destinations that would draw people from around the world to experience the installations: in Dubai, adjacent to Ras Al Khor Wildlife Santuary, in Abu Dhabi between Yas and Saadiyat Islands, or on the airport road near the Masdar City site in Abu Dhabi, the site chosen for the Windstalk. Designs were to be three-dimensional, have a sense of beauty, utilize energy from nature, create no emissions, be safe to viewers, and be feasible in their construction and technology.
The Windstalk concept takes queues from nature itself, designed to imitate the motions created in nature by the very element it uses to produce energy- the wind. An array of tall, slender stalks, sway in the wind like a field of wheat. Kinetic energy from this swaying is converted into electrical energy by generators in each stalk base.
How does this new design work? The team from Altelier DNA explains: “Within each hollow pole is a stack of piezoelectric ceramic discs. Between the ceramic disks are electrodes. Every other electrode is connected to each other by a cable that reaches from top to bottom of each pole. One cable connects the even electrodes, and another cable connects the odd ones. When the wind sways the poles, the stack of piezoelectric disks is forced into compression, thus generating a current through the electrodes.”
The creators estimate the Windstalks could create a comparable amount of energy to that of a traditional wind farm. Although each stalk will produce less energy than a single turbine, more Windstalks will fit into a given area. The Windstalk would be one of the first tests of piezoelectrics used at this large of a scale.
Windstalk is composed of 1203 stalks, approximately 180 feet high, with circular bases ranging from 32 to 66 feet in diameter. The stalks are just under a foot in diameter at the base, slimming to two inches at the top. 20 inches at the top of the stalk are lit with LED lamps that glow as the stalks sway with the wind and go dark when the stalks are still.
As a public art installation, the Windstalks become much like a park since visitors can walk from one stalk base to the next and explore the installation. As the circular bases of each stalk are sloped, visitors can comfortably sit or lie upon them, watching the Windstalks sway in the wind. The Windstalk concept illustrates how advances in technology do not have to compromise the beauty of our environment, and that the best solutions to keeping our world sustainable are often the most appealing choices.
Originally published by World Green. Click here to read more World Green features.
