Menir House began as Architect Andreas Angelidakis’ never-submitted entry for a design competition. The original proposal consisted of a rock-shaped house sitting under an umbrella on the beach. Recently, though he modified the umbrella part – now the house sits under an umbrella-shaped solar installation! But why stop there? The umbrella is shaped like a flower with petals that act as the blades of a windmill, driving a turbine when the winds start to blow.
No matter what the weather, then, the umbrella will be able to generate power. It's an interesting concept, but there would be some obvious difficulties if anyone tried to actually build it.
Most of said difficulties would arise from the fact that the best materials for building wind turbine blades are not usually the best materials for building solar panels, and vice versa. Solar panels aren’t designed to withstand heavy mechanical strain the way turbine blades are. So you would need to design a new kind of solar panel, which is a job and a half in itself. Furthermore, that kind of wind turbine would have to sacrifice a good deal of its efficiency unless it can be made smooth and aerodynamic.
Maybe one day solar and wind technologies will be so ubiquitous that Mr. Angelidakis’ vision can be realized, but until then the albeit pretty picture doesn’t seem to make that much technological sense.
Via Yanko Design
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written by alan, January 12, 2009
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written by Kelli, January 13, 2009
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written by Tom, January 13, 2009
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written by Clinch, January 13, 2009
And there's the dilemma, do you position for optimal wind, or for optimum sunlight?
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written by khursheed ahmad, January 13, 2009
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written by Roland, January 15, 2009
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