Anti-Smog Tower

Vincent Callebaut has designed an anti-smog tower for Paris. The 3D's are far more successful than the elevations, but well worth a look for the techniques used.
'to filter air particles and harvest wind and solar power... The project is divided in two; a “Solar Drop” located on top of abandoned railway tracks and a “Wind tower”. The Solar Drop is designed to transform polluted into clean air through a system of filters covered with titanium dioxide which break the pollutant particles...The Wind Tower equipped with turbines in its entire façade produces enough energy for the neighborhood and houses a museum and learning center on renewable energies.'
anti-smog tower

eVolo Skyscraper Competition

'The Nested Skyscraper adapts to climatic, urban, and programmatic conditions with the use of advanced materials and robotic construction. Its form and building method derive from the carbon sleeves and fiber-laced concrete performance. It is a composition of multiple layers of louvers which thicken and rotate according to solar and wind exposure.' Ryohei Koike, Jarod Poenisch's proposal for the Nested Skyscraper took third place in the eVolo Skyscraper Competition. The winner was a proposal for a vertical prison and second place went to a proposal for a water purification tower.
Nested Skyscraper - third place See the links below for further projects.


Elena Batueva's Wind Tower: 'The module consists of vertical-axis wind turbines and uses rotors that run vertically. It is a sort of wind power station, a clean and sustainable fuel source that does not run out and brings no harm to environment. In comparison with widely-spread horizontal-axis wind turbines, vertical-axis turbines can continue to produce power even in high wind conditions without risk of getting damaged and they do not need to be pointed into the wind to be effective – these are the essential qualities for the climatic zone taken up by Moscow.'
Wind Tower

Vertical Prison - first place
water purification skyscraper - second place
Nested Skyscraper - third place

eVolo Competition -scroll down the page to see the entries

Ackroyd & Harvey

Heather Ackroyd will be giving a lecture on Tuesday 16 March 12.15pm in Willow 10, Headington Hill Hall Campus

'Sculpture, photography, architecture and ecology are some of the disciplines that intersect in the work of Ackroyd and Harvey. Nature and structure, control and randomness are juxtaposed in their work to reveal a time-based practice with intrinsic bias towards process and event.'
web site

There is also a 1 day ART-CULTURE-SUSTAINABILITY SYMPOSIUM on Tuesday 23 March with BETH CARRUTHERS -from Canada and ALEX ARTEAGA -from Berlin and Barcelona
11-1 Beth Carruthers, 2-4 Alex Arteaga, 5 -7 Beth and Alex in dialogue with each other and the audience. Buckley Building, BG01, Gipsey Lane Campus, Headington Road, Headinton, Oxford.

geoengineering

John found this site - Next Nature:
"Recently some scientists in Britain have recommend planetary ‘geoengineering‘ to avoid climate change. And as politicians are listening, it is time to explore the options. New Scientist published this rather lovely diagram of the effectiveness and viability of nine different geoengineering schemes, from space mirrors to planting reflective crops."

Gordon Matta Clarke

"While the work of Gordon Matta-Clark defies easy categorization, his ideas have exerted increasing influence on architects and visual artists during the decades following his death in 1978. His Garbage Wall (1970) was a sculpture born of a performance piece, and his cuttings in buildings, such as Bronx Floors (1972–1973), were sections of abandoned buildings cut out for exhibition in a gallery."
Gordon Matta Clarke Archive
Pulitzer Arts

Chicago DeCarbonization Plan

"...strategies include "Smart Infrastructure," a look at how energy can be generated, stored, distributed and shared; "Mobility," an assessment of transit and connectivity; "Water," which examines how this critical resource is used and conserved; "Waste," an assessment of citywide processes and systems for reducing, recycling and disposal; "Community Engagement," which proposes various programs to engage citizens in the green agenda; and "Energy," an examination of existing and new energy sources."
chicago info

Tide

Luke Jerram's installation Tide:
"As the earth and moon move through space and time around the sun, our position also changes within this shifting triangle of spheres. Tide is a live installation controlled by the altering gravitational field of the Earth caused by this spatial relationship."
TIDE

Aeolus - acoustic wind pavilion

Charlotte found this design for a wind pavilion by Luke Jerram:
"The use of Aeolian wind harps has been selected as a suitable technology. Long tensioned strings will resonate with the wind and will be heard by visitors inside the space (see the films below). The ambition is to sonify the three dimensional landscape of wind, using a web of Aeolian harps, almost like cats' whiskers picking up the shifting landscape around the building. The public will be able to visualise this shifting wind map from within the space by interpreting the sound around them."
Luke Jerram