FLOWLIGHT

While researching sustainable methods of lighting for use in my studio project, a site which is on the river & has a dock in the centre of it (see Millenium Mills post for details), I came across this new tidal powered lighting system - FLOWLIGHT

Tidal power is not widely used currently, mainly because it is less powerful/takes longer to produce the same quantities of electricity as other more conventional sources. However, it is believed that in the future it will be used far more when other resources run out or provide too much damage to our planet. Water produces a lot of energy within itself, through waves & tides, Irish designer Shane Molloy has looked into this further & come up with a sustainable lighting system. Energy is generated from the flow of a tidal river, which is converted into electricity, which in turn illuminates the lights, using only renewable energy. The first Flowlights have been used to illuminate the dockside of the River Suir in Ireland.

The lights have an outer shell made from carbon fibre, within this is the bespokely designed water turbine blades. The blades of the turbine are designed so that they can operate both clockwise & counterclockwise, enabling them to generate power with the flow of the river at high & low tides. The lighting systems have been developed to react to the levels of water in the river with a 'Tidal Drop Extension Arm', which is constantly altering itself, extending & contracting to keep the turbine at an ideal depth in the water.

The mechanical energy created by the turbines is converted into electrical power, which is then stored in a battery unit within the system. They have built in light sensors which will turn the LED lighting strips on when the natural night fades.

This lighting scheme seems to be a suitable method of lighting many riverside/dockside/waterfronted public areas which are wishing to illuminate the walkways. Sustainable alternatives are obviously well researched in most designs today, due to the high awareness of the state of the planet & its resources. This lighting would definately be a system I would consider when designing the waterfront jetty in my studio design. As these images show they look reasonably attractive & are quite low key & minimal, it would be unlikely that alterations to the style & aethestics of the structure would alter the effectiveness of the energy generator, & so this could be changed to suit specific sites or design styles.

All images courtesy of The Design Blog

Invisible Streetlight

Korean designer Jongoh Lee has come up with this new design concept; artificial leaves that can be wrapped around trees, branches or any other natural material, producing light at night but remaining more or less invisible during the day. The 'leaves' mingle in with the branches of a tree during the day, collecting & storing sunlight, & then at night light up using the stored sunlight, providing an alternative to traditional streetlights, which purely functional & are set to a fixed height.

The 'invisible' lights are made from a double injection of silicone & aluminium; these lightweight materials enable the lights to have flexible movement, enabling them to be wrapped around most solid things. The silicon protects the leaves from water with its high thermal conductivity property, & its semi-transparency allows the LED lights within to shine through in the dark. Inside the silicon & aluminium outer casing is a "photocapacitor", which converts the solar energy from sunlight into electricity, which is then stored in a nano-wire battery. The high technology device is able to utilize indirect sunlight even on rainy or cloudy days, allowing usage every night.

An ingenious new design concept which could be the future of streetlighting in parks & small streets. The lighting, as the design stands, could not be used for inner city roads as not enough light is produced to illuminate large areas sufficiently to provide safe driving conditions. However, it could be progressed to provide a new form lighting to replace the boring functionality of the traditional streetlight.

(images sourced from Why Design Now)

Jason Bruges Studio

The Studio was founded in 2001, "We create interactive spaces and surfaces that sit between the worlds of architecture, interaction design and site-specific installation art" (JBS)

The studio comprises of architects, lighting designers, specialists in interaction & industrial design & project managers. Their work ranges from large scale; builiding facades, public art; to interactive lighting; interior environments & products.

The latest installation from JBS is the virtual wall at Sunderland Station. The piece is a 144 metre virtual platform with moving travellers within a glass block wall. The wall has been transformed into a low resolution (755x15 pixels) video matrix. Behind the wall is a disused track & platform, hidden from view for several years, the wall has now become a virtual platform opposite the fully function platform on which travellers stand & watch the ghost-like figures moving behind the glass.

(images sourced from Jason Bruges Studio)

THE FINER THINGS

Swiss Cottage Open Space, London; this project by Gustafson Porter in 2006, comprises of a lawned public space with a large central water feature made of granite. The water feature has a sloping gradient so that water can flow from the top end to the bottom, where the water pools. At the head of the fountain there are seven water jets, set to a 30 degree angle, which emit water across the basin of the fountain. At night these jets are lit from beneath by small blue LED lights. The lights create a beautiful sight at night & give the site a new ambience.

Finsbury Avenue Square, London; the £750,000 project in the Broadgate Business area is a 20x20 mtere lighting grid, containing over 100,000 individual LED lights, set in RGB clusters to enable a wide range of colour & hue changes. The square boasts one of the most sopisticated & highly techinical lighting displays in the world. It is hugely popular & people are always interacting with the lights. (image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/grosun/2414245267/)

New Australian Gardens at The National Australian Gallery; very simple design using grass & paving, but very effective, adding more interest to what could have been a plain straight edged lawn. (image from WLA)