Wind Powered Affordable Housing in London
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.25.07
What a pleasure to show a green residential project that is not an expensive condo in New York or Dubai. Instead it is a sixty-six unit building of affordable apartments in ratty Ramsgate Street in Dalston, London, designed by Waugh Thistleton. It is an airfoil shape to concentrate the greatest wind speed to the spline of the building, where four vertical axis turbines are mounted and will generate 15% of the buildings load, saving seven tonnes of CO2 each year.
Dezeen says "The tower is a bold design statement, introducing a new aesthetic to the area. It goes beyond being environmentally accountable and providing the community with much-needed facilities, to a building that both projects and epitomises the area’s aspirations and potential."
"Waugh Thistleton, established in 1997, is an architect practice based in Shoreditch. The two directors, Andrew Waugh and Anthony Thistleton, employ ten staff all boldly striving to make beautiful, intellectually rigorous, environmentally responsible architecture; responsive to client, context and brief. Projects range from high-rise housing, through to mixed-use, public, and commercial buildings. Clients include Housing Associations, Local Authorities, Artists, Synagogues and Cinemas." ::Dezeen
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The idea seems very interesting, and the building does look very good
also check out K2 Sustainable Public Housing in Melbourne, Australia......
This is good architecture/energy generation. I think it is affordable to design buildings this way but am wondering if the shape near the vertical wind generators could be designed to gather in a little extra wind. I can't tell by the picture and sketch how this is being done.
adrianakau@aol.com
I just wonder what they mean by 'affordable.'
This is very nice but the question is what they mean by 'affordable'. I'm sure that it will be much more than I can pay :(
this is near to where i used to go to school. very run-down and deprived areas that are now having alot of money invested in them. shorditch is now part of the growing islington borough and there are many strange and wonderful building, but this tops the buscuit.
i can't see it working as the wind must buffet this structure harshly if not coming from the favoured direction.
interesting, but i prefer low scale housing with garage/balcony with water/heat etc already taken into consideration and communal bike parking area. sorry can't find link.
this smacks too much of high rise office space!
What about the noise from the turbine esp. since it's a residential building? There are distance requirements for siting windfarms near populated building just to keep the noise down and reduce flickers and other visual impacts...
I wonder wat the residents of the building will think :(