A new project proposed for Rotterdam will harness wind to create energy. The Dutch Windwheel will be a wind energy converter that also houses apartments, a hotel, and a roller coaster. According to Gizmag, the windmill was designed to serve not only as an energy icon, but also as a tourist attraction and residential building.
The Dutch Windwheel is a 571-foot structure has two wings. The larger outer ring will house 40 pods on rails that move around the ring and provide views of the city and surrounding port. The inner ring will house 72 apartments, a 160-room hotel on seven floors, a panoramic restaurant, and a viewing gallery.
Using a technology developed at Delft Technical University, the windmill generates energy by harnessing the movement of charged water droplets in the wind. Since there are no parts of the attraction that move, it's essentially silent and easier to maintain than traditional wind turbines. Additionally, the Dutch Windwheel uses photovoltaic thermal hybrid panels to contribute to the generation of electricity.
The project is being planned and developed by the Dutch Windwheel Corporation, a consortium of Rotterdam-based companies: BLOC , DoepelStrijkers, and Meysters. The group says the windwheel could draw around 1.5 million visitors per year.
Related Stories
| Aug 14, 2013
Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Jul 29, 2013
2013 Giants 300 Report
The editors of Building Design+Construction magazine present the findings of the annual Giants 300 Report, which ranks the leading firms in the AEC industry.
| Jul 19, 2013
Renovation, adaptive reuse stay strong, providing fertile ground for growth [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Increasingly, owners recognize that existing buildings represent a considerable resource in embodied energy, which can often be leveraged for lower front-end costs and a faster turnaround than new construction.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Local Government Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Clark Group, PCL top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest local government sector contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Local Government Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
STV, URS, AECOM top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest local government sector engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Local Government Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HOK, IBI Group top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest local government sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top State Government Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
PCL, Clark Group, Turner top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest state government sector contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top State Government Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, AECOM, URS top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest state government sector engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top State Government Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, Perkins+Will, HNTB top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest state government sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Federal Government Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Clark Group, PCL, Hensel Phelps top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest federal government sector contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.