mode:lina architektura & consulting: gesterbine skyscraper

‘gesterbine’ skyscraper

polish firm mode:lina architektura & consulting have proposed ‘gesterbine’ skyscraper as their entry for the 2010 skyscraper competition organized by evolo magazine.

greater poland (wielkopolska) is an area characterized by small amount of precipitation, however, with high rate of evaporation. these conditions, amongst other factors such as the decrease in forest areas, have led to steppisation, a problem of water shortage and a decrease in varieties of fauna and flora. as a result, ponds and swamps surrounded by green oasis have disappeared. in addition, the warta river due to the inland navigation has been drastically regulated which has shortened the river bed by over 100 km. these environmental changes have quickly lead to the lowering of ground water levels in wielkopolska.

‘gesterbine’ skyscraper addresses this problem of steppisation using wind turbines, human kinetics and water. during the day, when there is a high electricity demand, ‘gesterbine’ looks like typical power plant supplying energy to average households, farms and small offices. during the night, when the demand for electricity is rather low, ‘gesterbine’ works as a self- sufficient water pump which transports river water into the land. this water is used to support or even create small retention water reservoirs across the land. this, in combination with planting new trees, retains the surface water for as long as possible within the land, thus, raising the levels of ground water.

‘gesterbine’ skyscraper turbines

the body of the skyscraper is composed of vast number of small turbines which help to generate the energy needed to support the neighbouring units. instead of using one huge windmill, the format of various smaller turbines was chosen as individual turbines can continue to work autonomously even if one of the turbines fails to function.

chosen method of human gesture research: human body tangled in LED lights and camera set on long exposure in the darkroom and experiments in 3D using cardboard models out of vectorized photos.

the proposal also seeks to collect energy through human gestures. the idea is to transpose human body kinetic energy into vectors. these vectors are used afterwards to build an energy producing skyscraper.

‘gesterbine’ skyscraper models wind is converted in energy during day, at night river water is pumped into the land to create and support water retention.