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Weather Overground Organisation: A conscious architectural approach to climate change

Part 2 Project 2014
Hylton Mallett
 London South Bank University | UK
Researchers are constantly stressing the impact of climate change. For instants, by 2050 we will be using three worlds worth of natural resources, food, water, etc. A forward thinking project, which utilises a new source of energy, needs to be carried out to help our planet. This project is an exploration into new technologies which are used to harness the energy from lightning and a facility to help monitor and research the effects of climate change. The facility will create an architecture that is technologically alive or ‘conscious’ adapting the needs of its users. It will gather research from an extensive network (already existing) dedicated to observing our planet, becoming an arc of information whilst supplying our grid with free energy, almost eradicating the need for coal and nuclear power plants.

The project comprises of several components:

- Lightning Facade Device
- Power Plant
- Archive
- Physical sample store
- Cymatics Observation Hall
- Research Tower



Tutor(s)
2014
Weather Overground Organisation (WOO)
As a result of climate change we've had to focus on renewable energy research and installation. On average the UK uses 57.490GW of energy a year and only 7,864MW comes from renewables. The projects approach started by moving away from these renewables in
During April & May 2014 the UK experienced one of its most extensive country-wide lightning strikes. This was due to solar wind, but also due to climate change, which is set to alter our countries climate to a warmer state. With a hotter climate and solar
The occupants (predominantly climate research scientists) are based on a scattered network where research is gathered and then brought back to their own independent facilities (NASA, WCRP, Climate Cluster, etc). This project aims on creating a centralised
Harnessing static energy (lightning), as unreal as it may seem, has the potential in the future to be drawn from the clouds to serve as a new potential energy.
Left: A diagram illustrating the process of how to convert DC to AC to connect to the grid. Right: View up the facade device being used to reach the energy in the clouds.
Site Plan _ Location: London City Airport - The choice of location was based on an empty site and a excellent transport links (rail, river. air and road)
Basement Plan _ Plant room - This area is where the energy from the lightning is put through ultra-high voltage transformers, capacitors and invertors whereby it is then put in to the national grid.
Archive - The archive is a public space where amateur meteorologists and professionals can come and look at passed publications and research. It has books dating back to the 1700's where the first meteorological diaries were written
Cymatics Observation Hall - All research gathered is stored on a server system, which then reacts by vibrating a diaphragm creating sound and visual patterns in the pool. This allows this hall/atrium space to become an exhibition showcasing the effects of
The Research Tower - This took a (re)interpretation on research facilities by taking the horizontal campus and flipping it to a vertical campus. The tower is a fractal heterotopian architecture that shape shifts to accommodate different researcher’s needs
Outside view of the tower looking towards Canary Wharf.
The tower self-cools itself through the principles of a hyperboloid tower stack. The form is the design standard for all natural-draft cooling towers where it accelerates upward convective air flow by using the Venturi Effect.
Break down axonometric.
Section / View of the tower from Woolwich Manor Way
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