WINDSTALK
Entry for 'Land art generator' competition.
Second Prize Winner.
2010. Masdar U.A.E.
MASDAR/WINDSTALK
Our project starts out as a desire, a whisper, like grasping at straws, clenching water.
Our project takes clues from the way the wind sways a field of wheat, or reeds in a marsh.
Our project consists of 1203 stalks, 55 meters high, anchored on the ground with concrete bases that range between 10 to 20 meters in diameter. The stalks are made of carbon fiber reinforced resin poles, 30 cm in diameter at the base and 5 cm at the top. The top 50 cm of the poles are lit up by an LED lamp that glows and dims depending on how much the poles are swaying in the wind. When there is no wind–when the poles are still–the lights go dark.
The bases that support the poles are laid along the site following a logarithmic spiral, the kind we see in the center of a sunflower. The bases all
touch each other, forming a kind of carpet, a kind of fabric.
The bases are shaped like vortices–no two vortices are identical–When it rains, the rain water slides down the slopes of the bases to collect in the spaces between, concentrating scarce water. Here, plants can grow wild.
You can walk on the bases of the poles, you can traverse the whole site by walking from base to base. You can lean on the slopes, lie down, stay awhile and listen to the sound the wind makes as it rushes between the poles.
But our project isn’t just desire.
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.
Within each concrete base is a hollow chamber that houses a torque generator.
The generator converts the kinetic energy of the swaying poles into electrical energy by way of an array of current generating shock absorbers, which convert energy produced by the forced movement of fluid through the shock absorber cylinders.
The electricity that our project generates isn’t constant, it depends on the wind.
To compensate we make a kind of battery, a capacitor, a way to store energy:
Below the field of poles are two very large chambers, chambers as large as the whole site. The chambers are shaped like the bases of the poles but inverted, then inverted again, and again and once more.
There’s upper chamber and a lower one beneath. When the wind blows, part of the electricity generated powers a set of pumps, the pumps move water from the lower chamber to the upper one. When the air is still–when there is no wind– the water from the upper chamber flows down again turning the pumps into generators.
Our project is conceptual, yet It is based on a set systems that already exist and work. Our project attempts to combine these systems into a coherent synergetic
whole.
Notes:
The shape of our Windstalks should be optimized to behave as chaotically as possible, they should flutter, oscillate, vibrate. Computer generated simulations can aid in determining and optimizing the best profile for maximizing movement and variation.
We roughly estimate that the overall output of our project is comparable to that of a conventional wind turbine array. While a single wind turbine that is limited in height to 55 meters may produce more energy than one of our Windstalks, our Windstalks can be packed in denser arrays.
With:
Narrative and Poetics: Gabrielle Jesiolowski.
Structure and Engineering: Radhi Majmudar P.E. ISSE Innovative Structural and Specialty Engineering,
Ecology and Renewable Energy: Ian Lipsky. eDesigndynamics
49 Responses to “WINDSTALK”
[...] [Link] tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.techfieber.de/2010/10/14/greentech-windhalme-sollen-turbinen-ersetzen/'; Share [...]
[...] stalks in the Atelier DNA wind farm are 55 meters (a little over 180 feet) tall and taper from 30 centimeters (not quite a [...]
[...] Get more information and check out amazing images here. [...]
[...] concept (via Discovery News) is called Windstalk, and came about in response to a call for ideas for the city of Masdar, a planned development [...]
[...] (fritz) (via atelierdna) [...]
[...] concept (via Discovery News) is called Windstalk, and came about in response to a call for ideas for the city of Masdar, a planned development [...]
[...] in a marsh; our hair on a gusty afternoon”. With these words, the team that presented the “Windstalk concept” at the 2010 Land Art Generator Initiative competition described the aesthetics of a project that [...]
[...] fotos y más info: Windstalk Comentarios: [...]
[...] In addition, each concrete base is a hollow chamber that houses a torque generator which converts the kinetic energy of the swaying poles into electrical energy by means of forced movement of fluid through current generating shock absorber cylinders. Energy storage is achieved by pumping water to an upper chamber while the wind blows, and then releasing it through electric turbines into a lower chamber when the wind is not blowing. More info and pictures at Masdar/Wind-Stalk | Atelier DNA. [...]
[...] why can’t we just use less?), I’m still fascinated by the ideas. Projects like Windstalk seem so elegant because they’re rooted in a keen observation of nature and based on what are [...]
[...] also put some less known technology or initiatives in the spotlight. One case is for instance the Windstalk project, a project submitted for the Masdar Land Art Generator competition consisting of wind energy [...]
[...] Source: Discovery Channel, Reuters, Atelier DNA [...]
[...] ++ Landartgenerator / Masdar / Atelierdna [...]
[...] Plus d’infos sur le concept Windstalk. [...]
[...] out this WINDSTALK idea. I find this really appealing because I’ve experienced firsthand the extreme [...]
[...] Fuentes: Ecoticias , Land art generator , Inhabitat, Atelier DNA [...]
[...] New York, where a design firm called Atelier DNA has come up with something completely different: windstalks! Windstalks are designed to work around public resistance to standard turbines, on aesthetic [...]
[...] in a marsh; our hair on a gusty afternoon”. With these words, the team that presented the “Windstalk concept” at the 2010 Land Art Generator Initiative competition described the aesthetics of a project that [...]
[...] la ciudad sostenible de Masdar, en construcción a las afueras de Abu Dhabi. La firma neoyorkina Atelier DNA es la creadora de este proyecto galardonado entre numerosos competidores internacionales. Sin [...]
[...] Holidays! In this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about the Windstalk concept for wind power generation in Masdar, U.A.E. Gorgeous. Will it allay concerns of anti-wind [...]
[...] http://atelierdna.com/?p=144 太陽光発電関連をググってて見つけた中で、いちばん気に入った風力発電。 保安院のアノ人はコレを推進したら良いのに！とか思った次第。 研究開発されてる太陽光発電の技術についてググってみた / 2011年04月18日 カテゴリー： 環境・エネルギー タグ： エネルギー , 太陽光 , 環境 , 発電 , 風力 $(function() { $('#evernote').socialbutton('evernote', { button: 'article-clipper-jp', styling: 'full' }); $('#hatena').socialbutton('hatena'); $('#twitter').socialbutton('twitter', { button: 'horizontal', text: ' – crocodile notebook', via: 'trmd'}); $('#facebook_like').socialbutton('facebook_like', { button: 'button_count' });}); カテゴリー [...]
[...] Vía | MASDAR / WINDSTALK [...]
[...] a marsh; our hair on a gusty afternoon”. With these words, the team that presented the “Windstalk concept” at the 2010 Land Art Generator Initiative competition described the aesthetics of a project [...]
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[...] Concept Removes Blades from Wind Power! Atelier DNA/Promo image Like Awesome-Looking Giant Blades of Grass Wind turbines are probably here to stay. [...]
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[...] step beyond even the newfangled vertical-axis devices, doing away with the turbine completely. Meet Windstalk.This alternative alternative-energy concept, brought to our attention by Discovery News, was [...]
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[...] WINDSTALK | Atelier DNA [...]
[...] The Windstalk harvests windpower without turbines. The main feature of the product’s design is a flexible carbon stalk that moves in the wind, much like reeds or plants. The stalks are expected to be more efficient than turbines and can be installed closer together. [...]
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[...] “Bladeless Wind Power.” The wind energy plant in question is Windstalk, a wind turbine design without spinning blades that was created as part of a competition to help provide clean energy to Masdar, the sci-fi city [...]
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[...] WINDSTALK | Atelier DNA [...]
[...] do not end here, there are some other fields. Like for example fields of wheat in the WINDSTALK concept! Apparently 55 meter high carbon fiber wheat stalk become the corner stone of the idea to use the [...]
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[...] New Yorker Designbüro Atelier DNA hat ein besonders futuristische Kraftwerk konzipiert: Einen Wald aus biegsamen Karbonstäben, jeder [...]
[...] New Yorker Designbüro Atelier DNA hat ein besonders futuristische Kraftwerk konzipiert: Einen Wald aus biegsamen Karbonstäben, jeder [...]