It has long been established that architectural projects are trying to incorporate greener ways of living into modern constructions.
One example in the making that has provided an inspirational solution, is the development of an 'eco mosque', in Norderstedt, near Hamburg in Germany, where the new calls from the minarets will take the form of the gentle whir of the wind turbines coming from them.
The mosque, the first of its kind will feature two 22 metre-high minarets which will each house a turbine, covering a third of the mosque's energy needs.
The €2.5m project, is the work of Selcuk Ünyilmaz, a pioneer in the field of energy efficient architecture, would become the first to turn the minaret, where the muezzin would sound the call to prayer, into a wind-fuelled power source.
"I thought about how we could give sacral architecture an ecological focus," Ünyilmaz said. "My design combines the modern with the traditional, so I wanted to give the minarets a contemporary function."
Praised as an ideal way to take advantage of the traditional structures of buildings, and using them as green energy providers, this is an example of how using cutting-edge technology deployments, sustainable methodologies and a dash of unorthodox thinking can be used as a solution in trying to achieve a smart solution.
The move is in-line with Germany pledging to cease their reliance on nuclear energy by 2022, increasing the pressure to find the shortfall by boosting their renewable energy sector. The EU leaves a lot of discretion to the individual member states because of how geographic conditions can vary from place to place. Janez Potocnik, EU Environment Commissioner, speaking with EU Infrastructure, said that he found it 'remarkable' how different regions of the union deal with environmental policies, all operating under the same legislation.
“It is remarkable to see how well some member states exploit this environmental and economic opportunity, while others do not do enough, although they all have the same EU legislation at their disposal,” said Potocnik.
Wind energy has previously proved itself to be an incredible power generator, as one sterling example in the small community of Samso, Denmark has proved. The island, home to 4,300 residents, won a contest in 1997 to become Denmark's showcase for sustainable power by becoming carbon-neutral, and began by making individual contributions with trading in their oil-burning furnaces for more eco-friendly alternatives, to investing in onshore and offshore turbines, taking advantage of the coastal winds.
Samso reached its target of becoming neutral, and now actually produces in excess 10% more electricity which is fed back into the grid bringing profit. The project, spearheaded by Soren Hermansen, has earned him recognition such as being named as one of Time's 'Heroes of the Environment', and will be speaking at GDS International's Smart Cities conference, taking place in Amsterdam, 29th - 30th November 2011.
The conference has sought some of the most passionate, engaging and relevant leaders in the urban planning field, such as Steve Lewis – Ceo Living PlanIT, Karl Falkenberg – Director General, European Commission, and Carlo Ratti – Director, Senseable City Lab MIT. Smart cities, 2011 combines top keynote speakers, interactive workshops and live Q&A sessions to bring an inspirational programme to all attendees, tackling both current and future strategic and infrastructural issues facing the urban planning community. The conference also provides networking opportunities by intertwining social media feeds, with industry-progressing relationships.
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