This was an exercise in combining sustainable design, with interesting, non-standard shapes. My focus here was less on surfacing, than on form, and utility, so this ambient occlusion rendering is a work-in-progress of an apartment structure that would employ both traditional solar cells on the roof that track with the sun thoughout the day, together with Konarka's flexible Power Plastic on the curved balcony solar cells, and Aerotecture's DNA wind turbines.
It represents a combination of how to generate power for the building as a whole, while also serving to power individual needs which will, by necessity, vary. Of course any overflow generated by one apartment would be in essence "donated" to the grid in general, thereby reducing everyone's bills.
There is also water reclamation on the rooftop delivere to the respective apartments via the hollow, glass exterior cylinder back staircase, and roof gardens to provide additional insulation and local food supply. Each apartment would also have individual garden plots with which to grow fresh vegetables and other plants. It is serviced, of course, by high-speed rail, to further reduce greenhouse gas production.
At some point, I might go back in and add a storefront to the ground floor front of the building, and reserve the back which lies beneath the hillside, for EV parking ans storage space for the residents above. Mixed-use spaces as is a standard feature in Europe is excellent for reducing traffic, and enabling people to live and work in the same neighborhood, rather than having long, expensive commutes.
The video above, is simply an ambient occlusion render without the surface textures so you can see the basic form of the building.
+ Softimage XSI 7
+ Photoshop
