Self-Sufficient Skyscraper
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK 
on 05.13.07
German architect, Eckhard Gerber, wants to build self-sufficient office towers in Riyadh, Dubai and Bahrain that produce 100% of their own electricity supply. The first tower would be 68-storeys, making it the 22nd tallest building in the world, and he is currently in talks with potential investors for the $406 million project. The cylindrical shape presents the minimum surface area to the sun, and a solar shield covers 60 degrees of the building. This will reduce the need for air conditioning.
Seawater will be used to cool air, as well as three large cooling units in the building's cellar. The roof will house a 197 foot wind turbine and 161,459 square feet of solar cells. The additional energy requirements will be handled by a floating solar panel island which drifts in the sea, close to the tower. Any excess electricity will be used to extract hydrogen from sea water, which is used by fuel cells to generate power at night. :: Speigel Online
See also :: World's First Building-Integrated Wind Turbines :: Zero-energy Tower Could Rise in Guangdong, China
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Impressive building. Very impressive. I hope it gets built fast. It is good eco-desigin and incorporates impressive eco-technologies. I hope this building will serve as further inspiration to architects that design skyscrapers.
That's cool. It's just too bad that they treat the workers that build it as sub-human borderline slaves.