THE WHIRLERS | Caterina Tiazzoldi Studio

Whirlers is a project developed by Caterina Tiazzoldi and Eduardo Benamor Duarte in the context of the LAGI Initiative (Land Art Generator Initiative). The Whirlers, are Conceived as a three dimensional grid of Darrieus Turbines that collects wind and transforms it for perceptive energy production. An energy system that create a new spatial experience conceived as a whirling artificial forest, changing the visual and thermal perception of the land by mixing natural and artificial elements. 10000 colorful turbines spinning following the ground and wind direction: An inebriating visual experience ranging in color and scale reminding a spinning forest. The Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) is curated by Robert Ferry & Elizabeth Monoian whose mission is to design and construct public art installations that have the added benefit of large scale clean energy generation. Each proposal aims to continuously distribute clean energy into the electrical grid, with each having the potential to provide power to thousands of homes. The 2012 LAGI competition is held in partnership with New York City’s Parks & Recreation for a site within Freshkills Park (the former Fresh Kills Landfill). The Whirlers typological variations respond to FreshKills’ site. By translating some of the predominant data in a set of elementary units (such as wind speed, topography lines, presence of trees and specific area for visitors) the Whirler geometry was explored as a list of variables attributes (height, length colour, size). Site information and the Whirlers final configuration are connected by a set of rules (density regulation in response to power production, rhythm, relative positions of the element, geometry, proportion, alignments, relative size). The adaptive grid follows the site configuration affecting the perception of space (color, light, sound, visual dynamics). Credits: Authors: Caterina Tiazzoldi, Eduardo Benamor Duarte Collaborators: '>http://M.Bariolo'>, C. Francisca, L. Serrano Sites: '>http://www.tiazzoldi.org'> / '>http://www.benamorduarte.com'> Caterina Tiazzoldi – MSAAD, PhD Caterina tiazzoldi is the Principal of the architecture and design firm Caterina Tiazzoldi / Nuova Ordentra, Director of the Research Lab NSU at Columbia University in New York and Visiting Researcher at the Politecnico di Torino. Her work is characterized by a strong interaction between research and practice and focuses in the development of innovative spatial concepts. Caterina Tiazzoldi won several awards (Architetture Rivelate, finalist Renzo Piano Award for an Italian Talent, Nomination at the cooper Hewitt Museum’s National Design Award, best paper EAAE/ARCC) and research grants (Sinapsi, Lagrange,Santa Fe Institute and Regione Piemonte fellowship). Eduardo Benamor Duarte – MSAAD Eduardo Benamor Duarte is an architect and designer, founder of the studio Benamor Duarte Architecture, based in New York City and Lisbon. Since 2011 he is an Assistant professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. Benamor Duarte Architecture’s agenda engage the ideas of recursion, adaptation and reconstitution of formal, informal and informational protocols in differentcontexts. His work and research has been awarded by several institutions such as the Ministério da Cultura – Direcção Geral das Artes, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.