This Strawscraper Gets Its Power From Thousands Of Quivering Hairs

via FastCoExist

Called a Strawscraper, this tower is covered in piezoelectric fronds that rustle in the wind, generating power for people inside.

It’s just a concept, for now, but a pretty interesting one, and another example how designers see future buildings relying on their own power, rather than a power station at the city limits. Designer Rahel Belatchew Lerdell says the inspiration “came from fields of wheat swaying in the wind”, while a press release talks about a construction that gives “the impression of a body that is breathing”.

Belatchew’s blueprint calls for the completion of the Söder Torn, in Stockholm. The building, completed in the 1997, was originally envisaged as 40 stories, but was cut down to 26, when its architect, Henning Larsen, lost control of the project. The straws are an added bonus, but, for the moment, more futuristic than feasible.

Still the idea is intriguing. “By using piezoelectric technology, a large number of thin straws can produce electricity merely through small movements generated by the wind,” says the release. “The result is a new kind of wind power plant that opens up possibilities of how buildings can produce energy.”

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