Eco Factor: Sustainable sculpture harvests renewable energy.
London-based architects Tonkin Liu have completed a wind-powered metal flower sculpture that has been installed besides the River Mersey in England. The project has been funded by the North West Development Agency as part of a wider Waterfront Regeneration Program to clean up the vacant and polluted riverfront land of Southern Widnes, Cheshire.
Dubbed the Future Flower, the 14m tall sculpture has petals made of perforated galvanized steel. Constructed out of triangles and pentagons, the steel structural frame is in the form of an icosi-dodecahedron, onto which 120 perforate galvanized mild steel petals are fixed. The sculpture also features a wind turbine that generates renewable electricity to illuminate the sculpture.
The designers believe that at a wind speed of 5mph, the turbine generates electricity that lights up the Future Flower’s LED lights. As a universal symbol the flower embodies the optimism for the future of Widnes, while its performance embraces the future of renewable energy.
Via: Dezeen
