As if the design wasn’t striking enough, a new 500 ft. tower filled with condominiums in downtown Atlanta is also planning to incorporate some incredible green technology — and produce roughly half of its own energy needs.
Called the Aquarius Tower, the building will feature a five-floor wind tunnel with about 60 small turbines and rooftop solar panels. The construction will also incorporate the use of recycled materials and thermally-efficient products. All the amenities from pool, sundeck, fitness center, lounge, and media room to guest suite and concierge services come with the package.
Even more interesting, a state-of-the-art robotic valet system will automatically store and retrieve vehicles. Supposedly, this action alone helps save on pollution — but we’re wondering how much energy those robots are burning in the process. Then again, if it’s all coming from renewable sources, what’s not to love?
The $70 million project may get underway this spring –with plans in place to finish by 2010.
2 Comments
Finally some intelligence and maybe some ethics with regard to wind turbines. Integrated systems, those that make the energy where the need and/or greed is are far more acceptable than those that make rural dwellers suffer with industrial wind ‘farms’.Buildings that incorporate the new turbine technologies into their own designs just makes more sense.
Additionally, there would be no need for massive transmission lines becuase power is on-site, therefore less expensive in the long run.
This is definitely one to keep a watch on.
This idea could be taken to the next level with the building being designed as a wind trap that funneled the air currents directly to the turbines.