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Beton Hala Waterfront proposal lets pedestrians generate electricity as they walk

Beton Hala WaterfrontEarlier in the year, the city of Belgrade launched a worldwide architectural competition to recreate the Beton Hala Waterfront Center. With the aim of integrating the heart of the city’s historic realms with a modern pedestrian-only riverfront visage, the architectural project aimed to represent the modernity of the Serbian capital without compromising on its root values.

This particular proposal was submitted by architects Andreas Eckmann and Stefanie Hesse of Architektur Studio. The visionary design incorporates a state-of-the art “smart roadway” which would, so as to speak, generate electricity when used by vehicles and pedestrians. Using strategically placed Piezoelectric Sensors that are essentially laid underneath the asphalt layer in the road itself, the 350 meter long roadway can potentially generate somewhere around 420 KW of electricity everyday (and an estimated 302400 KW per year) through normal usage.

According to the design studio, the innovative sensors would allow a person weighing roughly 125 lbs to generate 0.1 W of electricity as
he/she steps on one of these piezoelectric tile, for a couple of seconds, while walking around. With an expected 50K+ visitors every year, the proposed project should be able to generate 3.8 MW per year.

Keeping in mind that it takes just 1.7 MW of electricity to power 1000 houses and that any big city like New York, requires 45MW annually, the design could potentially be a landmark in the history of sustainable public development. The building aims to integrate itself into the natural contours of the waterfront by seamlessly flowing on top and swerving from the riverfront and onto the higher grounds that connects to the city’s historic core.

The compound itself is remarkable in the way it uses a system of modules that can be used and fixed and rearranged independently from the extension to be build closer to the water. Containing three main core structures allowing movement between the river, the plateau, and the public space, the building stands out visually from the surroundings with a main direct axe at the entrance hovering over the ground level.

Vertical axes allow for uninterrupted circulation within the compound and appear to merge into the sheltered public space that flows though the building. The extension layer is to be finished using a surface network of closely spaced uniform beams with the piezoelectric sensors laid under them.

Via: Arch Daily

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