Today with lot of environmental developments happening world over like global warming, energy crisis, lifestyle changes, it’s become even more difficult to design houses meeting all these requirements. More and more architectural designs are using digital technologies with respect to modeling, simulation, evaluation and fabrication resulting in complex shaped buildings which incorporates the above challenges. One such project is coming up in Tel Aviv whose primary resources are sun, wind, and land and these are fairly distributed amongst these complex structures thus making an optimum utilization of all. It’s of course high quality housing complete with latest gadgets but run on the natural resources. Architect Yiftach Ben Meir, the designer, is a recent graduate from The Faculty Of Architecture and Town Planning at Technion, Israel Institute of Technology (IIT). His final project SeaO2 was conceived under the framework of Tecnion Computer Oriented Design Studio, T_Code with the instruction of dr. Yasha j. Grobman.
Text from Yiftach :
SeaO2 is an experimental ecological housing project. The project poses an alternative to current plans for Tel Aviv North West coastal district. SeaO2 demonstrates vast use of cutting edge computer software, some being used in the aerospace industry, in order to improve building performance and to ensure the existence of a sustainable urban environment with a minimal ecological footprint. The project final form is a consequence of a scientific approach that calculates numerous of elements: the sun orbit, wind conditions, maximum open scenic views, very high density and more, all in a free-form organic manner.
Advanced Computer Simulations ensure the project’s credibility. The project’s unique morphology enables: optimized solar reception for heating at winter time, self-shadowing and solar reception for electricity generation at summer time, natural lighting, optimized natural ventilation, open looks to the natural coastal environment, public green spaces, rain collection and more. Various passive mechanical systems complement the basic morphology, enable better performance and create an energy efficient, environmentally friendly housing project
Designer : Yiftach Ben Meir
The new Solar Sailor is the new toy designed for the Super Rich which not just boosts the ego but is fuel efficient as well. Designed by Australian design team based it will be a wonderful addition for all the super yachts owned by all those super rich out there. The whole concept works in a way, wherein on top of the sails the solar cells are kept which are programmed to be facing towards the sun and absorbing maximum energy. The energy thus collected is used to power the yacht. The company claims that this can bring down the fuel consumption by up to 10%! Sure a breath of fresh air in these difficult times.
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Nissan Nuvu is a concept designed to offer next generation car from Nissan with rear-mounted electric motor and lithium ion battery pack. The design of this concept car is quite unusual and small. For city use, the Nuvu’s performance is more than adequate. Across the all-glass roof are a dozen of small solar panels. Basically, natural, organic and recycled materials are used to make its cabin. The steering of the car is very direct for quickness and maneuverability in the city. No one will have any problem in crowded roads and limited parking slots with this tomorrow’s city car.
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Renault Ondelios is a concept car especially designed for long distance travel and will be displayed at 2008 Paris Motor Show. This style of the car is enthused partly by an aircraft. Its slippery and low drag body and a canopy-style will surely catch your attention. You cannot ignore its boomerang shaped tail lights which add to the style and overall look of Renault Ondelios. The butterfly-type side doors are extremely amazing giving it a shape of aircraft. This car can accommodate 6 people and individual seats are arranged in 3 rows of paired seats. Passengers will be having their own Samsung interactive portable multimedia devices for sharing data or playing multiplayer games. So, overall Renault is a luxurious car for those who can afford it.
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The new bonsai like PhotonSynthesis designed by designer Vivien Muller is a device which seems straight out of designer text books. The device consists of 54 mini photovoltaic leaf panels which are needed for charging various gadgets. The connecting power cords are hidden beneath the tray that holds the overall plant. The so called branches of this tree consist of solar panels which store the electric energy from the sun in the battery which can be produced at the time of recharging the electric device. Thus it’s a nice utilization of natural resources to take care of our daily needs though it’s tempting enough to say that power does grow on trees.
Designer : Vivien Muller via IGreenSpot
