The Strata: World’s First Skyscraper With Built-In Wind Turbines
Prepare to be blown away: the latest addition to London’s skyline is a striking modern skyscraper that is heralded as the world’s first building with wind turbines built in! Nicknamed “The Razor”, the 148 meter-tall Strata tower is topped with a trio of turbines that will produce enough power to meet 8% of its energy needs. Link
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Measuring in at 42 stories tall, the Strata tower has enough height to eclipse the buildings surrounding it, allowing it to take full advantage of the area’s 35mph wind speeds. The tower is also designed to utilize the Venturi effect created by nearby structures to force wind through the turbines at accelerated rates, generating an expected 50MWh of electricity annually.
According to The Guardian, each of the building’s 19KW turbines will have 5 blades rather than 3, which will reduce noise during operation. Meanwhile a five-ton base outfitted with vibration dampers will keep the building securely anchored to the earth. The skyscraper will also boast other green building strategies such as the exclusive use of natural ventilation, high-performance glazing, and other energy efficiency measures that will keep the building’s power use 6% below current building requirements.
The Strata tower cost £113 million and is set to complete construction this April. The skyscraper’s revolutionary design makes bold steps towards meeting the UK’s requirement that all new buildings be zero-carbon by the year 2019.
Get rid of the white streaks and it would be sick. London needs more towers. Preferably Glass Towers. Ours is a beautiful city and the towers represent us.
London isn't and shouldn't be compared to manhattan. This tower is eco firiendly, situated in a less affluent area and isn't too imposing. It's also very 'london' in design. I approve.
London isn't and shouldn't be compared to manhattan. This tower is eco firiendly, situated in a less affluent area and isn't too imposing. It's also very 'london' in design.
Considering how expensive property in London is, it makes sense to expand vertically to increase supply.
My GOD, that's fugly. I hate skyscrapers in London but this just takes the biscuit. I thought part of Boris' manifesto that he wouldn't allow any more of these to rape london.
Might just be me but it looks like a cigarette lighter to me Glad london is actually designing modern, tall buildings and beginning to look like a powerful city, aesthetically
My GOD, that's fugly. I hate skyscrapers in London but this just takes the biscuit. I thought part of Boris' manifesto that he wouldn't allow any more of these to rape london.
Other cities learned that building up was a logical solution to the critical issue of space.
Greater London has a population of just 7 million odd people in a sprawling area that is bigger than New York, which itself is home to 8.3 million people inside the city limits in a much smaller area.
Building up is the only solution to the property crisis in London. You may not like the "damage" that London's skyline sustains as a result, but cities cannot solely be considered on their aesthetic merits. They are places where people live and work, and ultimately buildings must serve a practical function first and foremost.
Frankly I think that London should encourage the development of glassy towers both as residential environments and as office space. There's some amazing skyscraper designs out there.