[ By Delana in Art & Design & Technology & Gadgets & Tricks & Hacks. ]
There are few things more delightful than a dip in a cool pool on a hot summer day – but there is definitely something different about these swimming pools. Despite looking like normal water-filled pools, people are walking upright on the bottoms and not getting wet. What in the world is going on here?
(images via: Swedish Bed, Toxel)
These highly unusual swimming pools are, in fact, illusions. Rather than being filled from bottom to top with water, these basins only have a very thin layer of H2O at the top. The chamber of the pool is actually a room that is entered through a small door to one side. The 10 cm-thick layer of water creates the illusion of a pool that is filled to the brim.
That illusion is called into question, of course, when an entire family is seen effortlessly walking on the bottom of the pool. Although it may seem obvious once you know the trick, it is undoubtedly disconcerting to those who are seeing the effect for the first time.
(images via: Swedish Bed)
The pools are the work of artist Leandro Erlich, a talented sculptor who wanted to open up a new perspective for those viewing the pools. How does it feel to look down through the shimmering water and see real, live people moving about below you? How does it feel to stand in the bottom of the pool and look up at the rest of the world through that layer of water? It must be an experience like nothing else.
Erlich installed one pool at the PS1 Art Center in New York and another at the 21st Century Art Museum in Kanazawa, Japan. Regardless of their geographic location, these incredible works of art would truly be a sight to behold. Was the artist making a statement on water conservation or simply having fun? Viewers are free to draw their own conclusions and decide just how deep to take their contemplation of the subject.
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Waterfalls are a beautiful natural element that’s avidly sought out by nature lovers. Incorporating a waterfall into one’s home is becoming increasingly easy:
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Go With the Flow: Eco-Friendly Wind-Powered Street Lights
[ By Delana in Art & Design, Energy & Fuel, Technology & Gadgets. ]
True innovation comes from seeing a problem and coming up with a solution that is both simple and creative. That is exactly what this lighting concept does: it solves the problem of unsafe coastal cities by adding inexpensive, wind-powered lighting to the beaches where the electric grid does not reach. The concept from Hungarian firm Igen Design is called Flow, and it uses abundant natural resources to provide safety and beauty.
The basic design of Flow is a bamboo pole fitted with a number of bamboo “blades,” each equipped with an LED on the end. The blades are arranged in a spiral pattern and attached so that they will spin freely in the wind. With the turning of the blades, the entire setup builds up energy. The light posts are, in effect, wind turbines that use the wind energy they capture on the spot.
Every part of the Flow light post is biodegradable other than the LEDs and other electronic components like wires, but these components are designed to be recyclable at the end of their life cycle. Bamboo is quick-growing, abundant and inexpensive, making it the ideal material with which to build these tree-like structures.
According to the designers, in many coastal third world cities the beaches are full of life during the day but abandoned at night due to the lack of lighting and resulting danger. The electric grid does not reach all the way to the beaches, making traditional street lights impossible to install. Flow would make use of the near-constant wind in these locations to generate eco-friendly light.
(all images via: Igen Design)
The concept is not only safe for the Earth and for tourists, but beautiful as well. The spinning, dancing LEDs would make unique tracers against the dark night sky, painting mesmerizing shapes while helping to illuminate the beaches.
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Easy DIY Home Energy: 4 Ways to Plant a Solar Tree
(Image via: Zedomax)
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Single Plywood Piece is the Extreme in Flat-Pack Furniture
[ By Delana in Art & Design, Home & Garden, Technology & Gadgets. ]
While it’s not always true that making something yourself is greener than buying it ready-made, DIY objects are often easier on the planet than mass-produced, factory-made items. Swedish designer Pål Rodenius has a fantastically unique idea for helping DIY enthusiasts fill their homes with inexpensive, custom-made, low-waste furniture: a single piece of plywood that can be cut in different ways to form different pieces of furniture. A few sheets of plywood turn into an entire apartment full of furniture.
The idea is simple but ingenious: a single piece of plywood is printed with outlines of various colors. Depending on which furniture piece you want to build, you cut on a specific color of outline: cut on the grey lines for a table and chair, cut on the blue lines for a bedroom suite, and so on. Then the pieces fit together easily and you’ve got a whole new set of furniture with minimal drama. The project is called “2440
Nature + Technology Combine to Relax Stressed Urbanites
[ By Delana in Food & Health, Nature & Ecosystems, Technology & Gadgets. ]
The sounds of nature are among the most soothing known to humankind, but with more and more of us living in an urban environment it is not always easy to listen to the comforting music of the natural world. This web tool offers a uniquely high-tech way to get back to nature no matter where you live.
NatureSoundsFor.Me is a website that lets users compose their own unique nature symphonies using pre-loaded sounds. Users move sliders up and down to decide how large a role each sound will play in their overall composition. It is even possible to create stereo effects by changing the right/left channel balance of the sounds.
The available sounds are divided into two groups: animals and natural phenomena such as weather. NatureSoundsFor.Me lets you put your favorite sounds together in a combination that appeals to you. When you compose something particularly beautiful or relaxing, the website gives you the ability to save your composition as a link so that you can come back to it whenever you want to unwind with some sounds of nature.
(all images via: Per Ola Wiberg)
This valuable tool is not only good for relaxation: studies have shown that nature sounds can help soothe medical conditions such as insomnia, depression, high blood pressure and even diabetes. Those of us who live in a city setting may not ever hear nature sounds on a regular basis unless one can count the constant cooing of pigeons. Maybe listening to the music of the Earth is the key to reducing the daily stress that so many of us struggle with in our fast-paced lives.
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Powerful Research: The 8 Best + Worst Electric Power Sources
[ By WebEcoist in Energy & Fuel, Science & Research, Technology & Gadgets. ]
Discussions of the best and worst energy sources often devolve into opinionated and dogmatic “religious” wars, full of speculation and low on scientific rigor. But this may not continue for much longer. According to a December 2008 press release, Stanford University environmental engineering professor Mark Z. Jacobson completed the “first quantitative, scientific evaluation of the proposed, major,energy-related solutions by assessing not only their potential for delivering energy for electricity and vehicles, but also their impacts on global warming, human health, energy security, water supply, space requirements, wildlife, water pollution, reliability and sustainability.”
In the study, Jacobson reveals what he found to be the 8 best-to-worst electric power sources. Here they are, in illustrated detail!
The Four Best
Wind power
(Images via TreeHugger, 4HCirriculum)
The best source of electric power, according to Jacobson’s study, is wind. As the diagram above helpfully illustrates, wind is converted to usable electricity by way of a blade-driven turbine with an internal generator. While wind currently only provides 1.5% of worldwide power, it is becoming more and more widely used, doubling in the 3 years between 2005 and 2008. According to Jacobson, a nationwide roll out of wind would result in a “better than 99% reduction” in carbon and air pollution emissions.”
Concentrated solar power (CSP)
(Image via Sustainable Design Update, RobertDowney.com)
Second to wind in Jacobson’s study was concentrated solar power, or CSP. Shown above, CSP systems utilize vast arrays of lenses and mirrors in order to focus a lot of sunlight into a small beam, which is then used as the heat source for power plants. Unlike some of the other power sources covered here, CSP is not new. Primitive forms of it date back to around 700 B.C. when the Chinese first used mirrors to ignite their firewood.
Geothermal power
(Images via EcoFriend, ReUK)
Clocking in at third in Jacobson’s study of the best and worst electric power sources is geothermal. The task of a geothermal power pant is using heat stored in the Earth to heat water that is in turn used to power steam turbines. As one might imagine, this is somewhat difficult. The rewards, however, seem to be worth it. According to EcoFriend, geothermal power generation represents “a completely safe, clean, and a virtually inexhaustible process and can fill the world’s annual needs 250,000 times over with nearly zero impact on the climate or the environment.”
Tidal power
(Images via StatKraft, Ausscifi)
The “last of the best” in Jacobson’s study was tidal power. Tidal power is based on the idea that the change in water levels between high and low tides can be forceful enough (in coastal areas) to power turbines. Since water is roughly 1,000 times more dense than air, lots of energy can be squeezed from even low-velocity tides. Tides also have the advantage of being more predictable than solar or wind power, which are only reliable insofar as the sun is shining or the wind is blowing.
The Four “Not So Best”
Solar photovoltaic (PV)
(Images via EIA, Ardenham Energy)
Photovoltatic solar panels are what most people associate with solar power. They are simply panels that use semiconductors to convert the sun’s rays directly into electricity. While these are certainly useful (and sales have risen from about 15,000 in 1998 to 886,000 in 2007), there are limitations, namely that they can only suck up electricity when the sun is shining.
Wave power
(Images via Sweden, Piston Heads)
The sixth best electric power source according to Professor Jacobson is wave power. It’s main strong point? According to Sweden’s national website, “while solar power is available for about 1,000 hours a year and wind power for about 2,200 hours a year, wave power is available for up to 4,000 hours a year.”
Hydroelectric power
(Image via K2M Energy)
The 7th best electric power source was hydroelectric, which currently provides about 19% of total world electricity. Despite this, hydroelectric comes with some significant disadvantages, such as how much space is required to build and operate a hydroelectric dam, possible dangers to nearby animal habitats, and disruption of aquatic ecosystems.
Nuclear power
(Images via Hello World Bea, Guardian)
The “worst” electric power source in the study was nuclear power. While nuclear has proven effective across the world (namely by powering 75% of France), the main risk is safety. As meltdowns like the one at Chernobyl have demonstrated, the risk of accidents in nuclear fission looms large, holding the potential to wipe out entire populations depending upon the severity of the meltdown.
Again: the entirety of Professor Mark Z. Jacobson’s detailed study on the 8 best and worst electric power sources can be read here.
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Oceanic Biomimicry: 13 Designs Inspired by the Sea
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Science & Research, Technology & Gadgets. ]
How do you design the perfect turbine blade for use underwater, or build a fleet of vehicles that can pack tightly together and navigate around obstacles in a flash? Look to nature – specifically, in this case, the astounding complexities of the sea and all of the life it contains. Architecture in the shape of shells, robotic lobsters, cars that behave like schools of fish and swimwear modeled on sharkskin are just a few biomimetic designs inspired by the ocean.
Pollution-Sensing Robotic Fish
(image via: gizmag)
When a team of British scientists needed to put a robot into the sea to test pollution levels, they realized that nothing would be able to navigate the waters better than a fish. So they designed a completely autonomous, wi-fi connected, life-like robotic fish equipped with chemical sensors that can located the sources of hazardous pollutants in the water. The fish, which transmit the information they collect to a control center while re-charging their batteries at a “charging hub”, were released into the waters in the Spanish port of Gijon in 2010.
Taiwan BioLab Inspired by Nautilus Shell
(images via: world architecture news)
A nautilus shell is one of nature’s most perfect shapes, and it is from this sophistication that architect Manifred Nicoletti drew inspiration for the BioLab Squadron in Taiwan, which are set to be among the most technologically advanced laboratories on the planet. Nicoletti’s honorable mention-winning proposal not only used the nautilus shape as the basis of the two labs, but delved further into biomimicry with an outer skin pattern that emulates the four symbols attributed to the DNA sequence of the bacteria that would be studied inside the labs.
WhalePower
For millions of years, whales have propelled themselves through heavy water despite their bulk and weight – thanks to a finely honed design that couldn’t be more perfect if all the world’s most talented engineers spent their lives trying to outdo it. Biology professor Dr. Frank Fish (no joke) noticed that the little bumps on the flippers of a humpback whale served an important purpose, increasing their aerodynamic efficiency. Along with Stephen Dewar, Fish co-founded WhalePower, a company turning this discovery into innovative solutions for things like airplanes, submarines and wind turbines. Their most tangible accomplishment thus far is a highly efficient ceiling fan.
Stunning Shell Villa Retreat
(images via: artechnic)
The stark white exterior of the Shell Villa curves around itself in a clear yet subtle imitation of its namesake. This graceful home hovers off the ground in sharp contrast to the green of its natural surroundings and the brown of its wooden decks. Designed by ARTechnic, the airy and naturally day-lit structure dazzles with walls of windows and built-in furniture that sets off its curvilinear surfaces.
Nissan’s Fish-Inspired Car Design
(images via: inhabitat)
Robotic cars may someday make traffic automatic – but it’s important for commuters to retain the ability to navigate around unexpected obstacles. Nissan engineers noted the way schools of fish pack tightly together and move quickly around predators and coral, and applied it to the EPORO, a cartoon-like concept car that uses Ultra Wide Band radio signals and laser measurement technology to mimic this behavior.
“We, in a motorized world, have a lot to learn from the behavior of a school of fish in terms of each fish’s degree of freedom and safety within a school and high migration efficiency of a school itself,” said principal engineer Toshiyuki Andou. “By sharing the surrounding information received within the group via communication, the group of EPOROs can travel safely, changing its shape as needed.”
Robolobsters: Biomimetic Underwater Robot Program
(images via: design life now)
It’s got eight legs, antennae and a protective shell, but this is no ordinary lobster. For one, it can detect mines and send that information back to the military. It’s also made of plastic, metal and wire. Scientists realized that the perfect design for trawling the ocean floor was in the biology of a lobster, and they adapted not just its physical shape and movements but the way its nervous system responds to variable conditions in its environment. Robolobsters will allow detection of mines in places where human direction isn’t possible, potentially saving a lot of lives.
Syph: Jellyfish-Like Self-Contained Ocean City
(images via: inhabitat)
In a worst-case scenario world where the earth is so flooded, there’s little land left for human civilization, ocean cities could provide a safe haven. This concept by Arup Biomimetics is not just a single floating city, but a collection of ‘organisms’, clearly inspired by jellyfish. The entirely self-contained cities have trailing appendages performing different energy and water-related functions, drawing in seawater to desalinate or collecting energy from waves.
Jellyfish House by Iwamoto-Scott
(images via: evolo)
Unlike the Syph, the Jellyfish House doesn’t actually look anything like a jellyfish, but it’s just as connected to the billowy invertebrate. Design firm Iwamoto-Scott imagines an ultramodern home that, like a jellyfish, coexists with its environment through a network of senses and responses despite having no brain or nervous system. The house, designed specifically for reclaimed land, can actually act as a water filtration system that operates within the ‘skin’, or exterior walls, helping to remediate the toxic soil at the building site. “Like jellyfish, the house attempts to incorporate emerging material and digital technologies in a reflexive, environmentally contingent manner. The house is designed as a mutable layered skin, or ‘deep surface’, that mediates internal and external environments.”
Algaerium: Algae-Inspired Design
(images via: inhabitat)
Going even deeper beyond just biomimicry is ‘Algaerium’, living surfaces and textiles that actually produce biofuels from algae. Marin Sawa’s design was inspired by how efficient natural systems can be without any electronics. She set out to utilize algae’s biological attributes of photosynthesis and bioluminescence to create design products like ornamental plant-based décor and jewelry that is also useful in other ways. The products are ever-evolving, changing color as the algae goes about its natural processes.
The Porpoise-Shaped Oculus Yacht
(image via: schopferyachts.com)
With three levels capable of accommodating twelve guests in the utmost comfort, the Oculus Yacht is definitely luxurious – but all of its ostentatious trappings aren’t really what makes this 250-foot vessel by Schopfer Yachts stand out. It’s the unusual design, clearly inspired by the shape of an open-mouthed porpoise. The design isn’t based on science or aerodynamics, just looks, but it’s an interesting direction to take for high-priced homes on the sea.
Shark Scale Swimsuits & Ship Skins
(image via: speedo)
Ever wonder why sharks have scales? They enable smooth, fast swimming, eliminating the drag caused by eddies that can form as water passes over the surface of an object. Considering that in the Olympics, the difference between winning and losing can be one-tenth of a second, crafting synthetic shark skin into swimsuits for athletes can definitely provide an edge. Speedo’s FastSkin line of swimsuits incorporates not just the texture of shark scales, but also the variability, changing the shape and texture over various parts of the bod for optimal aerodynamics. Applied to the exterior of ships, the same concept could even make Navy fleets faster and more energy-efficient.
Sea Snail Shells to Military Armor
(image via: science blogs)
The three-layered shell of one particular species of sea snail could lead to improved armor for soldiers and military vehicles. An MIT study found that mimicking the iron-plated shell of the scaly-foot snail would provide advanced protection due to the way the shell dissipates mechanical energy, like attacks from crabs. The strength of the snails’ shells evolved due to the animals’ harsh environment on the floor of the Indian Ocean, where it not only fends off attacks from predators but is subject to extreme fluctuations in water temperatures and acidity from hydrothermal vents.
BioWAVE: Harnessing Wave Power
(images via: biopower systems)
Just like the little plants that grow on the sea floor, the bioWAVE ocean wave energy system is designed to sway with the movement of the ocean. The buoyant blades capture the force of the waves during optimal energy-harnessing periods but are also able to cease operating and lay down flat in a safe position during extreme conditions to avoid damage. BioPower Systems is currently testing this technology for 250kW, 500kW and 100kW capacities in the hopes of providing power to the Flinders and King Islands off Australia in the short term, and possibly the entire state of Victoria in the long term.
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Recycling Renegade: Guns Melted for Tree-Planting Shovels
[ By Delana in Art & Design, Home & Garden, Technology & Gadgets. ]
The efforts we make to recycle on a daily basis are rather abstract; we may know that some good comes of recycling, but we are rarely able to see it in action. Artist Pedro Reyes came up with an astonishingly effective way of connecting recycling with its end result – and he did it by taking more than 1500 guns off of the streets of one crime-riddled Mexican city.
Reyes put out a call for guns in the western Mexican city of Culiacán. The city has a higher rate of gun deaths than any other in the country, making it an ideal place to focus on for this project. By offering coupons good for electronics and appliances in exchange for firearms, Reyes was able to collect 1527 guns. The project, called Palas por Pistolas (which translates somewhat awkwardly to “Blades for Guns”) was meant to show that items associated with death and pain can be recycled into items that promote life and beauty.
The project came about when the Culiacán botanical garden accepted Reyes’ proposal as part of their artist commission series. After consulting with the families of gun and drug crime victims in the city, the artist realized that his project should focus on making the streets safer while beautifying the city at the same time. Decommissioning guns and giving them new lives was the perfect way to accomplish both.
After the guns were collected, a public event was held for the symbolic crushing of the weapons. They were all piled up so that a steamroller could run over them, then the bits were sent to a foundry to be melted down. The metal was then forged into shovel blades and wooden handles – with the entire story of the project on them – were attached. From the 1527 guns collected, 1527 shovels were created. They were distributed to public schools, community groups and art institutions where they will be used to plant 1527 trees. The once-violent weapons were turned into tools that will change the world in a positive way for generations to come – that is absolutely the best application of recycling we’ve ever seen.
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Inflatable Icebergs Beautify Stalled Construction Sites
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Technology & Gadgets. ]
All over the world, they stand in silent memorial to the pre-2008 construction boom: giant gaping pits that were supposed to be the beginnings of skyscrapers, commercial complexes and condominiums. There are dozens of them in Manhattan alone, lining the streets, barely covered by flimsy construction fences. But international design firm Woods Bagot New York has a cool idea to make them less of an eyesore: temporary “icebergs”, recyclable structures that are easy to install and remove.
Down-on-their-luck developers have had to put these sites on hold due to tight credit and general economic malaise, but does that mean the public should have to look upon such depressing reminders of the global downturn every day? The angular, icy-looking structures by Woods Bagot might just be a bandaid, but they’re an interesting and artistic alternative to mud and construction debris.
Made of translucent high-tech plastic fabric stretched over modular steel frames and inflatable faceted roofs that give them the ‘iceberg’ shape, the structures aren’t just for looks. They can be used as functional temporary spaces for retail or entertainment use and are surprisingly well insulated despite the thinness and ephemeral qualities of the materials used. Illuminated at night, they could actually function as public art or (less desirably) giant projector screens for advertising. Woods Bagot believes that developers charging rent to retailers could rake in millions of dollars in a year.
“Owners and developers are spending money every day to cover these idle sites, and people are hesitant to build on them in the meantime,” said Woods Bagot New York Principal Jeff Holmes. “We wanted to make something high quality with a real presence to attract top-notch venues.”
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Solar Powered Towers: 13 Super Sunny Skyscrapers
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Technology & Gadgets. ]
Nearly all sustainable architecture concepts include solar energy in some way, but not all of them do it in a big, bold way, bringing solar power to towering new heights. These 13 soaring solar powered skyscrapers incorporate solar cells in new and unexpected ways, from photovoltaic facades for existing buildings to flexible solar membranes that act as a building’s living ‘skin’.
Chicago Solar Tower
(images via: evolo)
Chicago is home to more than one unfinished mega-skyscraper, stalled by the state of the economy. But we can still hope that this Chicago Solar Tower by Zoka Zola Architects will someday become reality, bringing a highly visible example of sustainable urban design to the Windy City. The Solar Tower features a facade of round solar collectors on tracking arms that follow the sun throughout the day, increasing solar production 40% over fixed-arm arrays, and even the wind pressure on the frame of the solar array could be converted into clean energy.
The Lighthouse, Dubai
(images via: atkins-me.com)
Sure, the Lighthouse in Dubai doesn’t entirely rely on solar power to keep it going (theoretically, that is – it’s just a concept.) The design includes three gigantic 225-kilowatt wind turbines, which will produce a whole lot of energy. But it’s also covered in 4,000 photovoltaic panels on the south-facing facade that will absorb the plentiful sunlight available in this desert landscape.
EDITT Tower, Singapore
(images via: tr hamzah & yeang)
Economy permitting, Singapore may soon get a new 26-story vertical farm that packs as many solar panels as possible into 855 square meters to produce at least 40% of the building’s electricity. The EDITT (Ecological Design in the Tropics) Tower will be constructed from both recycled and recyclable materials and half of its exterior will be planted with organic local vegetation. Rainwater harvesting, graywater systems and a possible human-sewage-to-biogas project round out the impressive list of eco-friendly features.
Stackable Solar Skyscraper, Mexico City
(images via: design top news)
Nearly every level of the massive, airy Vertical Park design for Mexico City by Jorge Hernandez de la Garza contains solar panels to harvest all the sun it needs to provide power for homes, offices and recreation space. The stackable design allows expansion and even relocation as necessary, adding more sky gardens and urban farms.
Solar Membrane-Covered Tower Concept
(images via: evolo)
Looking like something that sprung from the soil rather than a man-made structure, this solar-powered tower by Kenneth Loh and Michelle Lim has quite an unusual exterior surface: not only is nearly half of it open and exposed in the form of gardens and green spaces, but it’s also covered in a membrane of solar cells. The core of the building is a hollow cylinder that moves hot air from the surface, controlling the temperature of all the green space, commercial space and residential units that surround it.
Structural Geodesics Skyscraper, Armenia
(images via: evolo)
With its unusual combination of fluid shapes, the ‘Evolving Skyscraper’ by Vahan Misakyan almost looks alien; it’s certainly unlike anything we already have constructed here on Earth. Three organically wavy and curved towers topped with spikes are connected with habitable bridges. The building, designed for varied uses like housing, offices and a hotel, is covered in an “intelligent skin” that not only absorbs solar energy to power the building but also collects water and controls just how much light to let in.
10MW Tower
(images via: studied impact)
Could the 10MW Tower be the most ambitious solar-energy skyscraper that actually has a decent chance of becoming reality? The design by UAE-based Studied Impact is tame compared to the outrageous and hyper-futuristic architecture often proposed for Dubai, but with its 5-megawatt wind turbine and 3-megawatt concentrating solar power system, the 50-story building could put out 10 times more energy than it actually needs.
Solar City Tower, Rio de Janeiro
(images via: rafaa)
From afar, it almost looks like a ghostly vision – a waterfall hanging in midair, with its source nowhere in sight. The Solar City Tower, proposed for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, is a powerful optical illusion that is more than just aesthetically pleasing; it’s an energy generator, collecting solar energy during the day and using pumped water to generate power at night. The tower also serves as an urban plaza and amphitheater for special occasions.
Dubai Vertical Village
(images via: evolo)
In the deserts of Dubai, how do you take advantage of the sun for energy production but prevent the building’s interior from getting too hot? One solution is to design the structure so that it shades itself. Vertical Village by Graft features an angled base covered in solar panels along with diagonal slab-shaped towers that reduce low-angle sun penetration. The towers hold residential units and inside the base are cinemas, restaurants and shops.
Solar Supertrees in Singapore
(images via: inhabitat)
They may not be skyscrapers in the traditional sense – more like a combination of energy generators, vertical gardens and artificial trees. They’re the star feature of ‘Bay South’, a botanical preserve in Singapore that will someday become the nation’s largest garden project. Reaching 30-55 meters into the air, the structures collect both solar energy and rainwater and act as giant trellises, illuminated by night.
Landau’s Abu Dhabi Tower
(image via: la times)
It would have been the world’s largest tower, a solar-powered 224-story wonder that would eclipse even the insanely tall, 126-story Burj Dubai. Designer Tommy Landau had hoped that his potentially record-setting structure would be approved by Abu Dhabi, and that by the time it’s ready to be constructed, the technology will be in place to coat the tower in solar cells so that it can be powered entirely by the sun. Unfortunately, Abu Dhabi turned the proposal down – now Landau is courting Saudi Arabia.
Almeisan Tower, Dubai
(image via: inhabitat)
No waste, no emissions, no need for outside power: this organic-looking spire design by architect Robert Ferry uses 224 heliostats placed around the top of the tower to focus sunlight onto a central receiver. Inside the structure is a cafe and observation deck, naturally powered by the tower itself. The excess energy produced by the Almeisan Tower would power the surrounding Za’abeel Park in Dubai.
Solar-Powered Vertical Farm on the London Bridge
(images via: chetwood architects)
Over the centuries, there have been many incarnations of the infamous London Bridge, some inhabited and some not. Architect Laurie Chetwood aims to bring life back to the bridge with a new design that would prominently feature two tall solar-powered spires – vertical gardens that also pull in enough solar energy to meet the bridge’s power needs. Food grown in the spires would be grown in a market on the bridge itself, which could also accommodate cafes, restaurants and even residences.
CIS Solar Tower, Manchester
(images via: design-build solar)
Few of the fantastic designs that have been proposed for solar-powered towers around the world have made it past the conceptual stage, but the Co-operative Insurance Tower in Manchester, England is actually complete, making it the largest vertical solar array in Europe. Perhaps that’s because the building was already there – this is just a facelift. The 40-year-old skyscraper got a sustainable facade made of over 7,000 solar panels.
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Sky Cities: 12 Hover Homes & Flying Urban Designs
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Home & Garden, Technology & Gadgets. ]
If we make the land less than habitable, the human race grows too large or we simply develop the means and decide to use it, there’s another place to go aside from the oceans, and that’s up. With some hovering in the sky like giant air balloons and others that are more like semi-stationary aircraft, these 12 interesting concepts for floating and flying cities offer breathtaking visions of high-elevation life.
Tolgahan Gungor’s Floating City
(image via: tolgahan gungor)
Silhouetted in a hazy sky, artist Tolgahan Gungor’s digital city almost looks like it’s simply reflected in a pool of water, until you take a closer look. Hovering in the clouds above the mountains with a land-based city in the background, Gungor’s futuristic creation features airy catwalks that make you wish for a panoramic view.
Buckminster Fuller’s Cloud Nine
(image via: steve dejonckheere)
Buckminster Fuller always had big ideas, including a massive floating city that would have housed 6,000 residents off the coast of Tokyo. The inventor of the geodesic dome imagined taking his spherical creations into the sky with ‘Cloud Nine’, an airborne habitat composed of free-floating or tethered spheres, each one mile in diameter and housing thousands of people. These spheres would function as hot air balloons, and residents would get back and forth with solar-powered aircraft.
Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky
(image via: io9)
Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film Castle in the Sky sees Laputa, the floating island from Gulliver’s Travels, as the last remaining mythical sky city in an alternate-reality of Victorian Times, resembling the visions of author Jules Verne. Laputa itself is half crumbling ruins overtaken by the greenery of nature, but still futuristic in a steampunk sort of way.
Floating City of Platina from Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia
(image via: creative uncut)
The Playstation 2 game Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia was set on a floating landmass called ‘Sol Ciel’, near which floats the city of Platina and its imposing tower, Ar tonelico. The city is rendered in detail in this concept drawing, showing the land mass in the background and train tracks resembling a roller coaster which provide access to the city and wind around it.
Cloud City by Alex Popescu
(image via: aksu)
Resembling a mirror image of itself complete with upside-down towers, artist Alex Popescu’s Cloud City does have a sort of Star Wars aesthetic which may or may not be reflected in its name. Popescu says he created it for a Romanian music video.
Alderaan Floating City by Ralph McQuarrie
(image via: chienworks)
As head production designer, Ralph McQuarrie is responsible for much of the imagery that Star Wars fans hold so dear. And thanks to McQuarrie, those same fanatics can finally get a look at Imperial capital city Alderaan before it was destroyed by the Death Star.
Fish-Inspired Floating City by John Berkey
(image via: io9)
Like Ralph McQuarrie, John Berkey is best known for his work as a Star Wars concept artist, but some of his creations were even more fantastic and futuristic than the original Star Wars poster art. This bizarre floating city in the sky is like a flying-fish-turned-aircraft, complete with a mouth and a single eye.
Dome Floating City by JF Liesenborghs
(image via: jfliesenborghs)
This spectacular hovering city by artist JF Liesenborghs looks as if it rivals some of the world’s biggest urban centers in sheer size, but it’s all contained within a spaceship-like dome, miles above the surface of the earth.
Migrating Floating Gardens
(image via: rael san fratello)
As green space has gone from ground level to rooftops in urban areas, at least one architect believes they’re due to go higher still. Rael San Fratello imagines ‘Migrating Floating Gardens’, trailing from large remotely controlled floating aircraft that would move around the city and even migrate seasonally to warmer locales.
Avatar’s Floating Mountains
(images via: the daily mail)
Inspired by the real-life (but sadly not floating) Hallelujah Mountains of China, Avatar’s floating mountains on the fictional planet of Pandora may not be physically possible, but they sure are beautiful. In fact, China liked them so much that it decided to rename its own incredible towering hunks of rock the ‘Avatar Hallelujah Mountains’.
The Floating House from Pixar’s ‘Up’
(image via: wired)
How many balloons would it really take to lift a house? In Pixar’s ‘Up’, a huge bunch of balloons was simply tied to the fireplace grate through the chimney. Keeping in mind that this is a fictional animated film, Wired did the calculations to determine whether balloons could really lift a house. Their conclusion: it would take 105,854 balloons, each measuring three feet in diameter, to make a 100,000 pound house buoyant.
Sky-Terra Tower Cities
(images via: inhabitat)
They may retain a tenuous connection to the ground, but the Sky-Terra Towers – living up to their name – would bring a variety of city functions far up into the clouds on landscaped platforms. City residents could escape the pollution at ground level and enjoy public parks, jogging paths, pools, amphitheaters and more high in the sky. Given annoying obstacles like fuel consumption and gravity, such sky towers may be the closest we’ll get to floating cities for a very long time.
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