Herning Energy Promenade defines a familiar yet otherworldly space that harmoniously complements and enhances its surroundings. The envisioned new park integrates recreational activities with clean energy generation, raising environmental awareness through the simplicity of its operation. The key feature of the proposal is the iteration of a specifically designed wind turbine.
The existing vegetation on site is organically integrated with these wind energy harvesting devices. The project imagines a curved promenade to improve the overall experience of movement, and the vision is to retain as many existing trees as possible.
1. The design of this new wind turbine starts from the Savionius vertical axis type: the simplest possible kind of wind energy harvesting device.
2. Cutout: The shape is optimized enlarging the top in order to catch stronger winds and tapering the base where winds are not providing any relevant contribution.
3. Final shape: The minimal footprint contributes to foster the relationship of the turbines with the human scale not obstructing the view and allowing people to come close and walk around them.
The sports fields and the path leading through Herning Energy Promenade also serve as a second energy generation source. They utilize piezoelectric material beneath the paving to harvest the energy produced by steps on the pavement. The concept successfully combines energy generation with movement in a sports context. Additionally, the gently sloping hills facilitate the organic integration of the turbines into the landscape while also placing them at different heights, thereby enhancing their performance.
The wind turbines introduced here have dimensions comparable to those of medium-sized trees, engaging the human scale and presenting a playful appearance. Their shape and materiality draw inspiration from sails, while their colors and structures subtly evoke patterns found in kites and spinning tops. Both metaphorically and in reality, their transparency connects the inner structural elements with the overall shape, encouraging a renewed perception of the surroundings.
The sailcloth wrapping the structure is composed of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). PET is commonly used in sailcloth due to its low price and high durability. Both aluminum and PET are among the most commonly recycled materials, allowing the turbines to be made entirely from discarded everyday objects, such as plastic bottles and cans. Moreover, at the end of their operational life, the turbines themselves can be recycled.
