St Kilda Flutter

Design 8 - Spring 2018 - Professor Nancy Clark

This project was created for a competition with the group LAGI, in response to the question

"What does renewable energy infrastructure look like when it is woven into the fabric of the city?"

The site, located in Melbourne, Australia, has strong coastal winds that change prevailing directions throughout the year. Through the course of my research, I discovered bladeless turbines, which do not require a specific orientation to generate energy, and which are smaller and safer to approach than traditional turbines. Using these as a guiding element, I began developing concepts for a landscape which would direct and capture wind energy, as well as make the wind’s effects visible to visitors.

Site Map

Summer

Spring/Fall

Winter

Wind Direction

How can a building and landscape interact with wind?

The concept explorations settled into a dual program of a turbine "garden" to generate energy and a museum institution to serve as a cultural gathering space. The wind garden is an extension of the existing park along the beach, and contains tall grasses which sway with the wind's motion and temperature-sensitive walls that reveal the breeze as it passes. The museum building contains exhibits on wind and other renewable energies, as well as flexible spaces that can be used for community events. The entire site is powered by energy generated from the turbines and from a piezoelectric screen across the building.

Redirection

Compression

Observation

Reaction

Visualize

Traverse

Gather