Michael Jantzen’s Solar Wind Plaza positions renewable infrastructure as more than a system to install. But also as a structural art display and communal place where the public can take shelter, while it does its job generating electricity.
The structure provides electricity to the local grid using the power of the sun and wind. Dominantly constructed from steel and concrete, it provides a sturdy shelter for the public and source of electrify.
The Solar Wind Plaza features five large steel sculptures of varying heights that merge at their tops into banks of solar cells. The bases of each sculptures form into horizontal extensions that serve as seats.
Moreover, a large elevated steel ring in the center also serves as a circular seat. It supports a tall steel tube that supports a large mounted vertical axis wind turbine. Both the sculptures and the wind turbine are mounted onto a large circular concrete pad.
The wind turbine and the solar panels both work together to generate electricity for the community. Inside the Solar Wind Plaza are four cylindrical seating spaces attached to the support columns. Each come with a receptacle at the top to plug in devices for charging. There’s also circular electric light mounted above the central platform powered by the same solar and wind generated electricity.
Jantzen’s Solar Wind Plaza is part of a series of public art projects that integrates alternative energy into the built environment. It’s ideal location is in public parks, universities, or any public place that has access to the local power grid.
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Images courtesy of Michael Jantzen/Archinect
