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Posts Tagged ‘Energy’

It’s Alive! 14 Algae-Powered Inventions for Food, Light, Energy & Oxygen

04 Oct

[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

If we could just get beyond pesky hiccups like catastrophic climate change and wanting to obliterate each other with nuclear weapons, we humans could learn from our mistakes and create a future that’s actually cooler and more sustainable than anything we dreamed up during the 20th century. Making the most of microalgae, one of the most ancient and prolific organisms on earth, we could produce abundant clean energy and healthy foods while also reducing the amount of CO2 in the air and producing more oxygen. These designs show just how this symbiotic process could manifest in our lives.

Living Chandelier Filled with Algae

Embedded with LED bulbs and sustained by daylight, ‘Exhale’ by Julian Melchiorri is a living chandelier with beautiful glass components filled with various shades of green algae. The glass ‘leaves’ take in CO2 from the room and release oxygen, too, making it a striking air purifier. Melchiorri is a designer and engineer, but he’s also a leading biochemical technology researcher, and he’s been working on his ‘artificial leaf’ concept for years.

‘Algae Green Loop’ Proposal for Chicago’s Marina City Towers

Architecture office Influx Studio imagines a dramatic makeover for the Marina City Towers in Chicago, retrofitting them to absorb CO2 through loops of bioreactors to help mitigate climate change. The closed-loop system sequesters carbon from the air, absorbs it through vegetal photosynthesis and produces its own energy through the same wind turbines that suck in CO2 and through the algae bioreactors that process it.

Photosynthetic Algae Furnishings

[vimeo128654962]

‘Living Things’ is a series of bio-powered furnishings exploring ‘symbiotic living,’ his which micro-algae help light up our homes. Presented in a series of vignettes, the project contains furniture and lamps that are both beautiful and beneficial. “The morphologies of hand-blown glass vessels function both as lighting and heating elements for the human occupants, and high functioning photobioreactors which provide heat, light, agitation, air supply nutrient and waste control to the living algae inside.”

World’s First Algae-Powered Building

Lots of concepts tout the ability to power an entire building on algae, but have you ever actually seen one built? BIQ House in Hamburg, Germany by Austrian firm Splitterwerk features the world’s first iso-adaptive facade in the form of algae-filled glass panels shading the southeast and southwest faces of the building. The algae is sourced from a nearby tributary of the Elbe River and constantly changes color as it grows. The panes produce biomass as the algae multiplies, and reduce the amount of energy needed for cooling inside the building.

Living Portraits Made with Microscopic Algae

Living algae cultured in petri dishes clump together to form images in a living twist on traditional photography techniques. Artist and researcher Lia Giraud places a mix of chemical nutrients in the dish and exposes them to an image, and the cells react to the light and form solids of various densities, resulting in the different shades of green that produce the image.

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Its Alive 14 Algae Powered Inventions For Food Light Energy Oxygen

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[ By SA Rogers in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

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Circular Logic: “Endless Runways” Rounded to Save Energy, Time & Space

02 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

circular takeoff

Designed to reduce real estate needs for runways in ever-more-crowded cities, this “endless runway” system encircles a central terminal building and lets multiple planes take off and land at the same time.

Developed by Dutch scientist Henk Hesselink, the two-mile-circumference shape also lets planes land or take off in alignment with the wind (rather than fighting crosswinds) since they can line up with any point on the strip.

round runway solution

In theory, the system would improve the flying experience for both passengers and pilots, making for smoother departures and arrivals. They would also save energy and space, increasingly an issue for once-suburban (or rural) airports now encroached upon by growing cities.

circular runway

Critics have expressed skepticism regarding the difficulty of landings and take-offs in such a setup, but big backers seem to believe in the potential. Also, even if not immediately feasible, increased automation could make it increasingly viable over time, since computer systems can coordinate ideal landing and arrival trajectories for optimal safety and comfort and across multiple planes.

runway system

Each such setup provides the length of three airstrips and could be deployed or at least tested at scale in Europe soon — participating backers include the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR), along with DLR Germany and ONERA in France.

round runway backers

From the designers research report: “The results of the literature survey in this document are promising and suggest that a circular runway can be developed with current and expected technology. Today’s aircraft characteristics allow to take off and land with speeds and low altitude bank angles compatible with the operation on a circular track. The Endless Runway fits in future concepts that specify improved planning of operations, new navigation equipment, and intermodal transport.”

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Night Riding: Glowing Blue Bike Trail in Poland Powered by Solar Energy

14 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

glow-in-the-dark-path

Charged during the day and lighting up at night, this beautiful bicycle trail outside the town of Lidzbark Warmiski is designed to improve safety for riders out after dark.

glowing-night-bike-path

Luminescent phosphor can hold emit light of various colors, but blue was selected to match the surrounding landscape and conjure associations with the sky (the source of the path’s power). Once deployed, the passive system recharges itself, obviating the need for connectivity or continual maintenance.

starry-night-bike-path

Though the technologies behind the effects differ, the path in Poland was inspired in part by the Starry Night bike path created in the Netherlands by Studio Roosegaarde. Both are proofs of concept, tests meant in part to demonstrate the potential and durability of this trail-blazing lighting strategy.

van-gogh-bike-path

Other illumination options were considered, but this glow-in-the-dark approach was deemed both appealing and cost-effective by the Board of Regional Roads. Adjacent pedestrian paths are also bracketed by glowing blue lines and denoted for persons on foot with likewise-illuminated path signage underfoot.

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The Power to Change: 12 Brilliantly Reclaimed Energy Stations

11 Oct

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

reclaimed-power-plants-gasholder-park-1

As cities grow and their power needs change, the historic and often surprisingly beautiful structures holding turbines, generators, coal and gas are decommissioned, becoming prime candidates for redevelopment. A recent wave of power stations built at the turn of the 20th century, packed full of period details, have been transformed into cultural centers, hotels, apartments and more, including London’s stunning Battersea Station.

Power Plant to Cultural Art Space by Renzo Piano, Moscow

reclaimed-power-plant-renzo-piano

reclaimed-power-plant-renzo-piano-2

A historic power plant on the banks of the Moskva River in Moscow will become a new cultural center, transformed as part of a larger contemporary art site by architecture firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop. The main building was built between 1904 and 1907 and will be extensively renovated to add lots of glass, while the original towers remain intact to provide natural ventilation.

Battersea Power Station to Residential Tower, London

reclaimed-power-plant-renzo-piano-4

reclaimed-power-station-battersea-1

reclaimed-power-station-battersea-2

reclaimed-power-plant-battersea-3

battersea-foster

A pair of twin coal-fired power station buildings set on the edge of the Thames River in London were decommissioned way back in 1983, but are considered such an important landmark in London, they’ve been preserved, awaiting the perfect redevelopment plan that takes advantage of their beautiful Art Deco interior fittings and decor. One of the largest brick buildings in the world, Battersea Power Station has been the subject of many proposals, including turning it into an eco-dome or an amusement park, all of which have ultimately fallen through. The latest places the original building at the center of a mixed-use complex by architects Norman Foster and Frank Gehry, which includes both luxury residences and affordable homes, a hotel, a gym, and a series of shops, cafes and restaurants.

Brick Power Station to 5 Star Hotel, South Africa

reclaimed-power-station-south-africa-1

reclaimed-power-station-south-africa-2

reclaimed-power-station-south-africa-3

reclaimed-power-station-south-africa-4

Decommissioned since 2001, this old power station on Thesen Islands in South Africa once used waste timber to power huge turbines, which supplied electricity to nearby Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. Now, it’s part of the 5-star, 24-room boutique Turbine Hotel by CMAI Architects, redesigned to keep as much of the original structures and equipment intact as possible. Mechanical equipment, operating panels, piping and the original turbines are all incorporated into the new complex, and things like gauges and dials were worked into various parts of the hotel. The entire development scheme is considered a ‘living museum,’ where guests can clearly see what it used to be while experiencing it in a new way.

Coal-Burning Power Plant to College Learning Center

reclaimed-power-plant-beloit

reclaimed-power-plant-beloit-2

A coal-burning power plant in a small Wisconsin town will become part of Liberal Arts institution Beloit College as a leaning and wellness center. With Chicago-based Studio Gang Architects at the helm, the project will preserve the industrial feel of the site while offering a coffee shop, conference hall, lounges, lecture hall and theater as well as a competition swimming pool, 3-lane track, 10,000-square-foot fitness center and 17,000 square-foot gymnasium. It’s set to be finished in 2018.

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The Power To Change 12 Brilliantly Reclaimed Energy Stations

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Power Grows on Trees: Wind Energy via Leafy Green Turbines

19 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

urban wind farm designs

Addressing noise and visual pollution associated with wind energy generation in urban contexts, these new trunk-style towers support suspended leaf-shaped turbine housings, hung from organic-looking branches.

energy generating tree design

Inspired by the movement of leaves in the wind, New Wind founder Jérôme Michaud-Larivière developed this project with technology and aesthetics equally in mind, conceiving of the design as part public art and part civic infrastructure.

urban wind tree generator

The technology behind the design is robust, sophisticated and efficient. Even the tiniest gusts of wind (starting at a few miles per hour) will turn the small blades secreted away within each individual leaf making them well-suited to all sorts of city environments. Each blade can rotate and generate power in both directions and thus more versatile. According to New Wind, “With 72 artificial leaves serving as micro-turbines spinning on a vertical axis, the Wind Tree is designed to harness more gentle winds. The developers say this can extend to breezes blowing as slowly as two meters per second, making the turbine useful across more than 280 days of the year. Its power output is calculated at 3.1 kW.”

urban wind turbine tree

A prototype has already been deployed in Paris and the idea is to eventually roll out small pockets (or perhaps: forests) in various public spaces, from gardens and parks to squares and shopping centers. Of course, potential applications in non-urban areas exist as well, particularly as future iterations evolve even greater levels of efficiency.

urban wind tower prototype

Currently, the plan is to power street lamps or energize electric car charging stations. Eventually the hope is to add photovalics to the trunks and branches, adding energy-harvesting capacity in another form to the same structures. Ultimately, these creations may supplant the need for power grids in localized areas like parks where bringing in energy adds more infrastructure that well-placed generators could provide instead. For now, the price tag still seems a bit steep: just over $ 36,000 USD, but that could come down in time as the production process is refined and if sufficient buyers express interest in scaling the strategy.

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Ostrich Pillows & Energy Pods: 15 Nap-Worthy Inventions

03 Feb

[ By Steph in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

Napping Furniture Main

Everybody knows that there’s no better place to take a nap than a hammock hung in a scenic location, but what about when you’re stuck at home, or at the office, or on a city bus? Instead of making do with an upright chair, the hard surface of your desk or a stranger’s shoulder, try these 15 nap-worthy (and sometimes ridiculous) loungers, sleep suits and head-supporting pillows.

Energy Pod

Napping Furniture EnergyPod

Among the perks of working at Google is escaping every now and then to take a nap in one of these bizarre-looking EnergyPods, which cost about $ 8K each. Reclined at just the right angle for optimal blood flow throughout the body, the pod has a visor that flips down to envelop the user in a private, soundproof space, and it even has built-in Bose speakers if you’d like to drift off to music.

Vitrea Living Tower

Napping Furniture Vitrea 1

Napping Furniture Vitrea 2

This classic design, first introduced in 1969, is an organically shaped seating tower that allows you to recline in a variety of positions. The unit can be used alone – either freestanding or pushed up against a wall – or put together to create a sort of seating cave.

Human Burrito

Napping Furniture Blandito

Turn yourself into a human burrito with the Blandito, a transformable pad for lounging in virtually any position you can think of. The pad can be rolled, bunched and scrunched in all sorts of different ways. The idea was to make the simplest possible product – essentially a sofa with no arms, legs, back or any real structure whatsoever – as multi-purpose as it can be. That’s achieved with just a little bit of fabric, foam and some elastic connectors.

DIY Hammock Bed

Napping Furniture Hammock bed

A fun twist on the conventional hammock design, this DIY creation is simply some net strung across an open space leading from one level of an office to another. Would you be able to get any work done if this thing was installed right next to your desk?

FEEL Seating System

Napping Furniture Feel Seating System

Over 120 soft foam balls make up the ‘Feel Seating System‘, which can be bunched up in any number of configurations to reflect “the ever changing emotional state of the body.” Sit on it, lay on it, or wrap it around you like a cocoon.

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Luxe Lounge 15 Tempting Places To Take A Nap

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Matching the Production Style to the Image – High Energy Means High Contrast

31 Oct

Introduction

The Following is an excerpt from the SLR Lounge Lightroom Preset System v5 and accompanying workshop from the Lightroom Workshop Collection v5.  The Lightroom Preset System is designed to take you from Ordinary to Extraordinary photos in just a few seconds and clicks within Lightroom 4 and Lightroom 5.

Overview

One thing that we like to do within our studio is match the post production style to the overall emotion and story within the image. We feel that doing so leads to a much stronger overall image.

So in scenes that have a lot of energy, we want to emphasize the excitement with a colorful, high contrast production style. For this tutorial, we are using this sparkler exit photo which should be well complimented by the high contrast edit. The SLR Lounge Lightroom Preset System v5 has presets specifically for high contrast portraits which we are going to apply to this photo. Not to worry, we are going to demonstrate all of the settings below.

Here is what our image looks like before and after our presets are applied.

beforeandafter

Lightroom Preset System v5 Mixology

For those who have the Preset System, you can follow the Mixology Recipe below to get to the same results. If you don’t have the Preset System, please read the article or watch the video below to see exactly how this look was achieved.

Develop Mixology
01-10 BASE-SOFT: 14a. Heavy Crush – Skin Desat

Local Adjustment
Radial Filter: 03 Burn (Darken) -0.5 Stop (watch video tutorial for reference)

Written Tutorial

Step 1: Checking the EXIF data

Screen-Shot-2013-08-12-at-3.40.04-PM

The first thing we generally do is take a look at how the image was shot. Doing so, gives us a lot of information on things we need to look out for when post producing. To check the EXIF data press ”i”.  This image was shot with a Nikon D700 at ISO 6400. This is important to keep in mind because Nikon cameras tend to shoot skin tones slightly green, and this high of an ISO might also present a noise issue.

Step 2: Apply Preset

After we adjust Color Temperature and Tint to taste, we apply the “01-10 BASE-SOFT: 14a. Heavy Crush – Skin Desat” preset. This preset adds contrast to the photo and makes adjustments to desaturate skin tones.  The Contrast is being raised and the Shadows and Blacks are being dropped in order to boost overall image contrast. To flatten out the highlights over skin tones, we have dropped the Highlights and Whites.  In the Tone Curve we have a subtle “S” shaped contrast boosting tone curve to add a bit of contrast back specifically where we need it.

Here are the final Basic and Tone Curve Panel settings:

developpanal

We have our standard Sharpening and Noise Reduction adjustments applied to this image. Even though this image was shot at a high ISO,the D700 takes such great photos at ISO 6400 that we don’t have to raise any of the Noise Reduction Luminance beyond what we already have.

In the HSL our Reds and Oranges are slightly dropped in order to desaturate heavy reds and oranges that can appear within skin tones when we are doing a high contrast edit.

developsettings1

Step 3: Add Radial Filter

The last thing we’re going to do is add a Radial Filter to this image. This filter is unique to Lightroom 5, but Lightroom 4 users can get the same effect by adjusting the vignette settings, or by using an Adjustment Brush and painting around the outside of the image.

radialfilter

We’re pairing the Radial Filter with our “03 Burn (Darken) -0.5 Stops” preset to get a nice vignette around our couple. We adjust the Feather to 70 to make the effect more subtle.

radialfiltersettings

Some people may comment that shadow details are being clipped, but that’s okay for this image. Remember, we edited this image to fit the mood and energy, not for it to be technically “color correct.” Making this high energy photo a high contrast one is a stylistic choice, and we love the way it looks. Here’s what our photo looks like before and after our edit.

Before

lightroom-5-tutorial-high-contrast-portrait-0001

After

lightroom-5-tutorial-high-contrast-portrait-0002

Watch the Video Tutorial

If you would like to see exactly how all of the settings and adjustments were applied, please watch the video from the SLRLounge youtube video channel.

Conclusion and Learn More

We hope you all enjoyed this tutorial. If you are interested in learning more or purchasing the SLR Lounge Lightroom Preset System v5 or the newly released Lightroom Workshop Collection v5, please click any of the links in this article.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Matching the Production Style to the Image – High Energy Means High Contrast

The post Matching the Production Style to the Image – High Energy Means High Contrast by Post Production Pye appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Ziggurat Hat: Deconstructing The DEVO Energy Dome

30 Jun

[ By Steve in Design & Graphics & Branding. ]

DEVO Energy Domes
Designed by New Wave band DEVO and worn in concert for 30+ years, the geeky DEVO Energy Dome has emerged as a key touchstone of late 20th century pop culture.

Are We Not Men Without Hats?

DEVO Energy Dome(image via: Tumblr/Robotcosmonaut)

Originally mocked, maligned and misunderstood by many, the DEVO Energy Dome first appeared around 1980 and made its public debut on the cover of the band’s third album, Freedom Of Choice. According to DEVO founding member Mark Mothersbaugh, “We designed them, Jerry (fellow band member Gerald V. Casale) and I. We were influenced both by German Bauhaus movement and geometric fashion, and Aztec temples. We just liked the look. It looked good, and it didn’t look like any other bands out there.” Amen to that.

DEVO Energy Dome red(images via: 2 or 3 lines, Rock and Misc Collectibles and TimeOut Sydney)

“It was designed according to ancient ziggurat mound proportions used in votive worship,” continues Casale. “Like the mounds it collects energy and recirculates it. In this case the Dome collects energy that escapes from the crown of the human head and pushes it back into the Medula Oblongata for increased mental energy.” We wonder what covering an Energy Dome with tinfoil might do… don’t try this at home, kids.

Something Blue For Everybody

DEVO Energy Dome For Women Mr-DNA(image via: Mr-DNA)

Original DEVO Energy Domes were vivid red in hue but over the years different colored Domes have appeared: green for a televised appearance on Solid Gold, white for a 1984 Diet Coke TV commercial and charcoal gray when the band were guests on VH1′s TrueSpin. Blue is the new red, however, and we can thank DeviantArt member Mr-DNA for the dome-tastic image above.

DEVO Energy Dome blue(images via: Wall Street Journal, DEVO OBSESSO and MSN Entertainment)

Energy Domes in various shades of blue have been showcased on several different occasions, most notably during the promotional campaign for DEVO’s ninth studio album, 2010′s Something For Everybody.

DEVO Something For Everybody Natasha Romanova(image via: Computer Bild)

The cover shot for Something For Everybody is jaw-dropping on multiple levels yet the image’s focal point – a beautiful woman about to bite into a miniature blue jelly Energy Dome – alerts us to the fact that this can only be the work of DEVO. The so-called “Sexy Candy Dome Girl”, by the way, is actually Russian model/musician Natasha Romanova from the band Discrete Encounter. The more you know!

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Ziggurat Hat Deconstructing The Devo Energy Dome

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Solar Socket: Portable Plug-In Creates Free Energy to Go

22 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

window socket

With batteries running low, your eye roams the room for a place to plug in, but then you remember: you brought your own power supply. Portable, easy and green, this solar socket design is a stroke of genius, able to both generate and hold a charge.

window portable power generator

A suction cup lets you stick the converter to any flat glazed surface, putting photovoltaic panels on the outside and a customary energy outlet on the other. And if you are worried about what happens at night or in overcast conditions: the device itself can store energy for in-place or mobile use.

window mounted solar cells

Kyuho Song & Boa Oh have added a few other functional quirks to the design: rotate your charger plug and you kill the power, spinning a circular cut-off switch built into the face plate. There is a second manual on/off switch on the bottom as well.

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Harvest Energy from Power Lines to Recharge Your Batteries

05 Mar

[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

Energy Parasite Gadget 1

The entire city is your power source with an innovative gadget by designer Dennis Siegel that harvests energy from electromagnetic fields and instantly recharges batteries. These ‘energy parasites’ make use of electromagnetic fields produced as a result of information transfer, or as byproducts of electric equipment, from power lines to coffee machines.

Energy Parasite Gadget 2

In a series of images, Siegel holds out the device to gather energy from home appliances and power plants, even hovering creepily beside a cell phone user. An LED light on top of the device will let you know that electromagnetic fields are nearby, and even how strong they are.

Energy Parasite Gadget 3

The energy gathered is stored in a conventional battery, so you can gain ‘redundant’ energy from the power supply of all kinds of electronics and then use the battery to power something else.

Energy Parasite Gadget 4

Siegel created two types of harvesters, one suitable for frequencies below 100Hz, like those produced by home electronics and appliances, and one for higher frequencies like radio broadcast, Bluetooth and WLAN. Imagine if this capability could be built into devices like smartphones, so you never had to worry about losing your charge while out and about.

via Pop Up City

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