With its dual purpose of recycling waste piles and promoting sustainable energy, the 99 Luftballoons conceptual art installation offers a neat, soothing view as 99 giant red balloons float above the landfills. Developed by a Winnipeg-based design firm Nadi Design Studio, the concept project seeks to beautify city landfills with energy-generating balloons floating 100 feet off the ground.
Each of the 99 balloons, which are 50-foot tall and 40-foot wide, have photovoltaic solar generators embedded in them to generate enough energy to power 4,500 homes a year. Made from resin membrane, the balloons have MIT-built transparent solar cells installed on their outer layers. Utilizing liquid crystal technology, the balloons go transparent to allow their inner solar harvesting systems to get maximum solar exposure.
While the resin poles ensure perfect flexibility and allow the balloons to sway in the air, their steel bases guarantee that the installations stay permanently affixed to the ground. Rightly adjudged as one of the four winners at the Land Art Generator Initiative Competition, the installation owes its existence to a highly competitive design team, which includes Scott Rosin, Meaghan Hunter, Danielle Loeb, Kara McDowell, Indrajit Mitra, Narges Ayat and Denis Fleury.
Via: My Modern Met
