wind power

The Strata, London's Tallest Residential Tower

London's tallest residential tower isn't just big, it's also the world's first skyscraper with built-in wind turbines. The Guardian's Jonathan Glancey took a look at the Strata, a newly built tower which is located in the Elephant and Castle area of the city and stands at 485 feet. There are 310 private units between levels 11 and 42 in the 43-story Strata SE1 with a choice of studios, one, two and three bedroom duplex apartments. The flats on levels 2-10 of the building have been sold as part of a shared-ownership deal and offer affordable housing while the higher floors are being sold to investors and others with deep pockets. The 39th floor is home to the Sky Lounge which has views of the city. The top of the building's unique profile is crowned by three wind turbines. If the turbines work as they are supposed to and aren't too noisy, they could supply around eight percent of the building's energy needs, enough to run the electrical and mechanical services and lighting, heating and ventilation in the building's public spaces.

Want to test it out? Units are available for let. A 36th floor three-bedroom apartment is listed at £840 per week.

Tags: london, strata london, the strata, wind power, wind turbines

Italian Wine Carafe Handmade of Recycled Glass

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Green

Thankfully just because a person wants to be green and support recycling doesn't mean they have to compromise on style and quality. This Italian Carafe and set of wine glasses is a great example of having the best of both worlds. Handmade of recycled glass in Portland, this set is processed in an electric furnace that's powered 100% by eco-friendly wind power. No two pieces are the same but they all have the beautiful foggy white color variations and charming, slightly misshapen organic appeal. Get the carafe alone for $174, or with a set of 4 glasses for $370.

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Tags: carafe, glassware, green, wind power, WindPower, wine, wine glasses, WineGlasses

Greenbird Tries To Be The Fastest Thing On Ice

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings, Green

Somewhere between a race car, a light plane and a yacht there is the Greenbird, a light craft powered only by the wind. Engineer Richard Jenkins is on a mission break both the land and ice world speed records. He's giving it a go on the ice-covered Canyon Ferry Reservoir in Montana attempting to be the fastest sail-powered man ever to race across the face of the earth. Currently the record for a purely sail-powered vehicle on land stands at 116mph and the highest reliable recorded sailing speed on ice is 84mph. Jenkins is hoping to hit a speed of 120mph or even 125mph. In UK land-based trials, Greenbird unofficially touched 120mph when fitted with wheels and he's hoping for a faster speed on ice.

[via The Telegraph]

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Tags: greenbird, montana, wind power, WindPower

Philippe Starck's Wind Turbine For Home Use

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Green

Philippe Starck has been pretty busy designing stuff lately, considering just a few months ago he was proclaiming that "design is dead" and announcing his retirement. I guess the most creative minds have the most persuasive demons, and it seems Starck is trying to learn from his: after proclaiming that "everything he had ever designed was useless" he's now on to designing something truly useful and trendy: a mini-turbine designed for people to use at home to generate their own wind power.

The mini-turbine is made of clear polycarbonate (the lack of color is apparently a statement about there being so much materiality in the world) and is capable of providing 20-60% of the power needs for the average home. It will be available this coming September with a price tag around $600.

Gallery: The Philippe Starck Home Wind Turbine

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Tags: green, philippe starck, PhilippeStarck, planet, starck, wind, wind power, wind turbine, WindPower, WindTurbine

Humphreys Yacht Design Concept

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

Superyacht Times has a piece on this wild design, a new 246-foot concept developed by Humphreys Yacht Design for Devonport Yachts. The yacht has a fully glazed atrium that spans the entire width of the yacht and creates a passive heating/cooling system. The atrium is surrounded by automatically operated louvers. The atrium space allows the sun's rays to enter the yacht in cool climates and traps the heat behind thermally efficient glass. In warmer climates a solar chimney effect works to draw in cool air at sea level. The warm air escapes from the top of the superstructure. The owner's stateroom features viewing wings at the bow creating a unique sea view. The yacht is also being developed to use the SkySails wind power system, a method of using kite propulsion to tow the boat.

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Tags: megayacht, skysails, superyacht, wind power, yacht

Skystream Wind Generator

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

It's always nice to come across a product that can save you money and do something good for the environment as well. The Skystream is a small wind turbine system that lets you provide your own wind power. When the wind isn't blowing your home can still be powered by your local power company but in some cases you can sell excess electricity back to the power company. The wind generator costs between $8,000 to $10,000 and will pay for itself over time. I wonder if over time the Skystream will achieve a certain level of eco chic much as the Toyota Prius has done.

[via Treehugger]

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Tags: green, skystream, wind power, wind turbine, WindTurbine