studio air journal Tan Yee Yin 560654 Sem1/2014
INTRODUCTION Hi everyones! I’m Yee Yin, Tan, 3rd Year in Bachelor of Environments, Majoring in Architecture, The University of Melbourne “16 years ago, I was just a kid who always follows my dad’s footsteps. I used to unfold the recycled boxes and start drawing on it to get rid of the boredom of waiting. whilst my dad was busying with his stuff.” That was the starting point of my painting life. Improving from using colour pencil, crayon to water colour, and now, digital programming had become a must tool in my designing.
In the beginning of my university life, architecture was a total new thing that I could barely know from where should I start with. Time flies as now it turns to be my third year in Architecture Faculty. From the past two years, I was exposed to digital programming tools, construction studies, model-making and etc. Not only that, I also practice my critical thinking as well as presentation skill. Virtual Environments was the subject which I first get to know about Rhinoceros. It was definitely an interesting subject that we were asked to produce a wearable lantern by using the panelling tool in Rhinoceros. Later, I further brushed up my skill in Rhinoceros during my short intern back in Malaysia. I realised that Rhinoceros is a useful NURBSbased-3D modelling software which manage to provide us the accurate measurements that is crucial when comes to physical modelling. With the enhancement by Grasshopper, designers can efficiently design whatever they would like to. In Air Studio, a range of explorations with the use of Grasshopper is just begins!
HOW IT OPERATES ? As the name suggested, Swayway is operating by the swaying feather that produces energy by converting the controlled structural vibrations into electicity through the piezoelectric components. The ‘vane’ of the feather consists of photovoltaic cells that produce electricity from the collected solar energy. On the other hand, the swaying of the feather due to the wind will also converted into DC by the inverter. The designer had considered the ever-changing weather conditions at Freshkills Park, Staten Island, New York City. Thus, in order to ensure it can operate effectively throughout the year, it is capable to generate energy from both solar and wind sources. Swayway not simply an energy generator but also a sculptural design that harmoniously adapted into the site with its ‘feather’ pattern. A brief background-Staten Island is a bypass place of the birds’migration routes
Swayway is a sculptural design that can generate both solar and wind energies.
SWAYWAY From my point of view, Swayway is a good example for being able to generate energy from two different natural sources. This can be applied to Copenhagen which has four seasons as well. During winter when the day is very short, wind can replace solar energy to produce electricity. However, from a perspective of construction, this design seems to have an unstable base. Since the brief wants a sculptural energy generator that can stimulate users to visit the site, safety must be the first consideration to avoid any injury caused to the people. Especially during the strong wind season, the swaying might be too strong and cause the ‘feather’ to fall off. In addition, from the architectural side, this design is a bit too literal with what it wants to represent. Besides, it is lacking of a unity as a whole. From the plan shown, the arrangement of the ‘feather’ is a bit confusing .
Overall, Swayway may be an efficient energy generator somehow in term of design, it is simply too literal and lack of a united sense.
HOW IT OPERATES ? The device is equipped with multiple small rotors along its shaft. They all rotate in synchronicity, with the exhaust of the upper rotors helping to drive the ones below it. These rotors act as gyroscopes or spinning tops that stabilizing the driveshaft where they are attached The windmill of the future might be some kind of kite or balloon. Doug Selsam invented a high altitude wind generator called the Sky Serpent. The goal is to eventually tap into high winds in the jet stream and generate enough low-cost electricity to supply the increasing demands of the world. Copenhagen which will become the first carbon neutral capital by 2025is currently with a population of just below four million. However, a tremendous population growth of 100,000 towards 2025 is being forecasted.
Traditional wind turbines, while very innovative machines today, have a number of potential shortcomings. They rely on very large and cumbersome blades, many bigger than the wings of jumbo jets, as well as large complex gearboxes and slip rings to turn and steer their power-producing turbines. In order to make a betterment in wind energy industry, Selsam supplants them with a smaller, simpler, cheaper and more efficient innovation that called Selsam Superturbine. Any component that does not contribute directly to the generation of power has either been eliminated or minimalized as much as possible.At its heart is a very long, flexible drive shaft, mounted on a housing with a versatile universal joint and designed to bend and twist at multiple angles to shift along with prevailing winds.
Thus, the invention of Selsam Superturbine is definitely leads to a new trend which can reduce the total land required as well as can be used in various ways.
SELSAM SUPERTURBINE The flexibility of being able to increase the energy productivity is an advantage of this creation to expand future possibilities. The amount of energy could be increased even more by adding a dirigible anchored to the upper end of the turbine’s spine. Thus anchored, the entire shaft can freely rotate, adding its own motion to the rotors and allowing even greater power generation. The blimp itself could be covered over with solar cells, so that every small component of the system is producing at least some power to feed into the grid. It fully utilise every single component in order to maximise the amount of renewable energy that can be produced. This is very suitable to be built at the site due to the limitation of space. Moreover, the people in this city like outdoor activities such as cycling and swimming, hence, it seems to be further restricted if heavy renewable energy generator is replacing this potential site for recreational activities.
Besides, While these devices can be deployed on land, Selsam has emphasized much more of their potential use in offshore windfarms. Moored by tethers to the sea bottom, the shaft’s fulcrum would be at or very near the water surface, allowing the turbine to still tilt and twist with the wind as needed. During severe storms, it has been suggested that the Superturbine could be filled with water and “laid down” onto the water surface or below it to save the device from potential damage. However, this superturbine is yet to be constructed. Although the universal joint for its fulcrum and the flexible drive shaft have proven themselves in smaller test models there may be some disadvantages to this system, but whether they do equally well with full-scale turbines still could not be guaranteed. Besides, these devices will cause safety threats toto ships, boats, and wildlife who wander too close, especially in unpredictable conditions due to the swaying with the wind.