The Windstalk concept recreates the swaying traits of a windswept wheat field with modern materials and kinetic-energy harnessing technology. Devised by New York design firm Atelier DNA, the project offers a new means to employ wind power, and an aesthetic alternative to the standard turbine.
The proposal calls for 1,203 carbon fiber reinforced resin poles, each reaching one hundred and fifty feet in height, anchored to the ground via round, concrete bases. These bases, butting up to one another, create platforms and passageways on which one may wander amongst the towering “stalks.” Within each pole are piezoelectric discs and electrodes capable of generating an electric current from the slightest movements. Attached to the peak of each poll is an LED light; off when the air is still, on when the Windstalk is active and producing juice. This charge is stored in sub-terrainian battery chambers, housed below the cement bases
Although the Windstalk does not have the efficiency of a turbine, the concept does offer a much more structurally versatile option; height-wise and ground coverage. It furthermore functions dually, as an energy generating structure and interactive public space. In progressive design, this project demonstrates yet another attractive means of incorporating sustainable practice into everyday life.
