Blowing Horn harvests wind energy with a multi-rotor turbine

Are you tired of seeing the same old giant wind turbines in a field or offshore? And do you worry about their impact on migrating birds? Hooman Tahvildar Akbary from Iran has a solution that is both super efficient and beautiful.

Designed for the 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative Competition, a site specific art and energy competition for Copenhagen, Blowing Horn references the horns people used to use to communicate to one another over great distances (to me, a hard of hearing person, it looks like the horns we used to use to hear.)

Except this particular horn comes with an interesting twist.

Related: The Shard architect designs lightweight dragonfly wind turbine

“By reducing the cone diameter from the mouth,” writes the design team, “the speed of the wind increases towards the narrower end of the horn—an application of the compact acceleration turbine lens that makes use of the venture effect.”

The inside of the giant horn ‘monument’ contains a multi-rotor turbine that uses just one drive shaft. Designed by Doug Selsam, this technology allows for additional energy generation. While the horn captures the energy, the large base upon which it rests serves a separate function, the designers explain.

“The ship form at the base of monument is designed to act as a channel, which leads wind through a Windbelt™ array on the deck and the outer shell of this new golden horn for environmental energy production.

True to the competition guidelines, this energy generator doubles as a stellar example of public art that not only engages the public, but also generates energy.

The Land Art Generator Initiative got its start in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in 2010, and awards for the third biannual competition will be presented in Copenhagen in October, 2014 by Connie Hedegaard, the European Commissioner for Climate Action.

Stay tuned!

:: LAGI