The 2016, site specific, Land Art Generator Initiative design competition is coming down to its’ finals. This year, the site chosen was Santa Monica Pier in California. The focus of many of the designers has been the issue of California and water shortages.
Heerim Architects and Planners of South Korea have gotten their design into the finals. The Clear Orb, a transparent luminescent solar concentrator, shows promise in meeting the competitions criteria of being both public art that informs and uplifts the community, but also produces energy. This design is capable of producing solar energy as well as half a million gallons of fresh water each year.
The Orb would be accessible from Santa Monica Pier, where the pathway slowly gets closer to the water’s surface. Outer walls harvest wave energy, while the inner walls show animals that have gone extinct. The fresh water, once produced, pours out of a fountain at the base of the structure. As the artists say, it becomes “an artful interpretation of the power of light and water to give life.” Its’ potential to bring the idea of conservation to the mainstream puts it in the finals this year.
The Orb would be accessible from Santa Monica Pier, where the pathway slowly gets closer to the water’s surface. Outer walls harvest wave energy, while the inner walls show animals that have gone extinct. The fresh water, once produced, pours out of a fountain at the base of the structure. As the artists say, it becomes “an artful interpretation of the power of light and water to give life.” Its’ potential to bring the idea of conservation to the mainstream puts it in the finals this year.
It powers itself with it 130 foot diameter of solar concentrators, pumping sea water into the Orb. The remaining solar energy converts the sea water into fresh water. The process uses evaporation and condensation. More energy is produced through the water flowing along an oscillating water column.
However, the Orb’s water production goals are smaller than the other entries this year. Compared to another entry, The Pipe, which produces 1.5 billion gallons of water per year, the Orb only produces 500,000 gallons per year. Still, the design competition also focuses on the designs ability to teach the public about sustainability, which the Orb is hitting to a T.