dis[PLACE]ment architecture

Bird-Friendly Wind Turbine

Aerovironment has introduced a product they call Architectural Wind, a relatively small 6.5-foot diameter, 60-pound turbine. It's designed to take advantage of the unique aerodynamics of tall buildings, catching the wind after it's been funneled up the facade. The unit only needs a 7mph wind to start cranking out the power, and it's capable of generating 55kWh per month. There's an optional canopy you can mount on the top of the unit as well as the grid you see here that keeps birds out of trouble.

You can see the manufacturer's website here:
http://www.avinc.com/index.php

Some of the other unrelated products from Aerovironment are also very interesting, especially the hand-launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). While most of the ones profiled on the webpage are for military or scientific applications, one can only wonder how long it will be before surveyors (or even architects) will be able to toss a GPS-guided UAV into the air that can, with the use of laser mapping or a synthetic aperature radar, completely generate a digital model of a particular site.

posted by clintor @ 12:20 PM