<
https://www.positive.news/society/the-decommissioned-wind-turbine-that-became-a-tiny-home/>
"You might be blown away to know that the tiny house pictured used to stand 100
metres in the air as a major part of a wind turbine.
With an average lifespan of 20 to 25 years, estimates based on International
Energy Agency figures forecast that 5,000 wind turbines will now be
decommissioned each year.
In an effort to reduce this waste, the Swedish energy company Vattenfall has
repurposed a nacelle, the part to which the three wind turbine blades are
attached, into a tiny home.
“We are in a time and space where our larger offshore wind farms are starting
to reach the end of their life,” explained Vattenfall’s director of innovation
Thomas Hjort. “We need to figure out what we do with these machines once
they’re done with their first life. We need to ensure that they create a
positive impact on society, where they are.”
Vattenfall challenged Dutch designers to come up with a solution, and the bijou
space is the result. While the nacelles are no longer used to house the
turbine’s gear box and generator, they are still watertight, sturdy and even
offer protection against lightning.
Rotterdam-based architecture agency Superuse Studios came up with the design
for the home made from a Vestas V80 2MW nacelle, measuring just 10 metres long
by three metres wide and three metres high.
Designer Jos de Krieger said that, to his knowledge, it’s the first design of
its kind – using a nacelle. “There are a wide range of wind turbine models and
all of them have their own specific blade lengths and nacelle sizes,” he
explained. “But with this V80 nacelle, we are in the sweet spot of it being big
enough to live in and small enough to transport on land.”
Despite its humble size, the home meets Dutch building regulations in terms of
providing enough living space, daylight, insulation for the roof and walls and
having a large enough kitchen. It also houses a bathroom with toilet, sink and
shower.
Beyond that, like any home, it had to be somewhere that people would want to
live. The prototype has been produced without a bespoke design so that people
can imagine putting their own stamp on it."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
