In the drawing, it appears to be an immense golden wave bursting into the Upper Esplanade of Melbourne’s St Kilda Beach and crossing an active road before crashing into the sandy beach. In reality, it’d comprise a canopy of more than 9,000 flexible photovoltaic cells created to connect a retail and entertainment district to the beach while generating renewable energy.
The proposal is dubbed “Light Up,” the concept was chosen as the winner in a contest that was sponsored through the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI), which is an organization whose mission is to “accelerate the transition to post-carbon economies by providing models of renewable energy infrastructure that add value to public space, inspire, and educate.” They’ve hosted biannual contests to generate green energy for public art since 2010. Every game has been focused on a different site–a Copenhagen shipyard and an abandoned shipyard in Copenhagen, a Dubai desert highway, or a Santa Monica waterfront–that creates a design challenge for urban areas.
The task for Melbourne was that Melbourne competition create an atmosphere of unity in an area known as the “St Kilda Triangle,” an area bordered by a hilltop marketplace as well as a busy Jacka Boulevard, and an entertainment district that includes a theater as well as the city’s renowned Luna Park amusement park, close to the famous beach. The area, which is pedestrian-unfriendly, harshly sunny, and blighted with an ugly sprawling parking lot, has been a topic of redevelopment debate for years.
“Light Up,” a collaboration between Australian design studio NH Architecture, Ark Resources, John Bahoric Design, and RMIT Architecture students, is designed to provide an air that flows through the Triangle and an inviting bridge over Jacka Boulevard to the beach.
“The street is such a big divider between the beach and the Triangle site, and we thought, ‘what if we actually use that street and turn it into a positive?'” Says Martin Heide of NH Architecture, who was the architect for the project.
The plan would have the canopy of solar panels covering an extensive stretch of the street with shade beneath and a bridge over to the ocean above. Alongside being solar-powered, the idea incorporates wind energy generated through the swaying bridge as well as the use of microbial fuel cells. In combination, it can produce enough power to power 500 Australian homes and the amusement park and theater on site. Park. Lithium-ion cells made from old battery packs for cars inserted into the bridge railings could store extra energy produced from the solar panels. The excess energy could later be used to feed back to the grid. The plan also includes plans for a hotel, a cultural center, and the goal of creating a landmark for the city.
“It’s an experience, and people need to enjoy the park, enjoy the beach, feel like they’re immersed in something beautiful,” Heide states.
“The experience of traversing the park will be like walking through a flowing stream of solar energy,” LAGI co-founders Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry released in an announcement.
“Light Up” was one of the 25 designs shortlisted to be a finalist for the LAGI prize. The winner received the award of $16,000. A second prize of $5,000 went to Seattle design firm Olson Kundig for a promenade with a hydro-solar generator called “Night & Day.” The idea comprised a pedestrian bridge and recreation space, including an immense solar sail made of photovoltaics that could power homes while pumping seawater into a battery vessel. At night, the water is removed from the ship, with energy generated by the boat transformed into electricity.
“‘Light Up’ and ‘Night & Day’ are power plants where you can take your family for a picnic,” wrote Monoian and Ferry. “They each demonstrate the way that aesthetics and renewable energy could be put together to build the resilient and sustainable infrastructure for the city of the future. These works are cultural icons for the major energy revolution that will be viewed by future generations to commemorate this crucial moment in human history.”
The result does not guarantee the project will go ahead on the Triangle, but LAGI founders and “Light Up” creators hope that community planners and planners will be aware of the layout when planning the site.
If designers decide to build the design, Heide says there are no technical obstacles to launching construction.
“We put quite a bit of focus on the buildability of this scheme, so all the products that we used, especially the flexible solar panels are market tested,” the author says.