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| [Solar Serpent in Santa Monica Freeway by Mans Tham] |
Foreign architects are envisioning Los Angeles Freeway system as a means of opportunity of sustainability. Sweden-based architect Mans Tham covers Santa Monica Freeway with solar-skin that looks like a serpent's scale. The whole freeway system is covered with this skin, providing nice shade for drivers while collecting hot solar energy, which is abundant in Los Angeles. The collected energy will provide the city grid and also power for electric cars.
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| [New Green Transportation Solution for LA by ODBC Architects] |
French architect Odile Decq and Bonit Conrnette Architects proposed an extensive plan to make the "freeway city" a little greener. The project proposes large stretches of green space over freeway system and a system of small vehicles with designated transportation lanes and parking stations.
Looking through the eyes of these foreign architects' view of Los Angeles, we can see how unsustainable our city is and how much it would be a better place if these ideas would actually be built.
I really like that Mans Tham's idea to cover the freeways with a solar skin! It's very innovative. Los Angeles is always so sunny and there are endless miles of freeways, so this could be a great opportunity to take advantage of that and turn it into useful energy. It would provide shade for the drivers from the scorching sun, thus reducing the need for drivers to crank up the air-conditioning and wasting energy. I don't see any reasons as to why this idea would be opposed. It's great that architects are thinking more sustainably!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! Did LA recently hire foreign architects to propose sustainable solutions, or are these foreign architects proposing these plans on their own?
ReplyDeleteI think these ideas are fascinating. But I wonder if LA has the funds to execute such a large-scale project right now. And I would also be concerned with how everyone would get around during the construction period. LA traffic is already so bad without construction! But that is an unavoidable issue whenever construction needs to be done...
It would be great if LA could implement sustainable solutions like the ones proposed above - hopefully the road there won't bring up too many problems!
After reading the article about Mans Tham's "Solar Serpent" idea, I was stunned to see how much impact his idea would have on LA's sustainability. According to the article, the 15 miles of solar panels covering the freeway would provide electricity to all of Venice. This type of impact would be huge; not only would it create renewable energy, but it would also help to process biofuels and create green jobs for the communities that are most negatively impacted by their proximity to the freeway (due to exhaust and car greenhouse gas emissions).
ReplyDeleteIn a different class of mine, we learned about SB375, which is a California Senate Bill that was passed in 2008 in order to set a goal on reducing car greenhouse gas emissions, which account for 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions. I think that these architectural concepts would only help to further California's efforts in achieving their reduced emissions goal.
I love the idea of the "serpent's scale," and I can see how car-poolers will enjoy the added shade. However, I'm a bit skeptical. Wouldn't the scales cause the greenhouse effect, thereby making the temperature within the space unbearably hot? possibly leading to engine overheating.
ReplyDeleteNot only to add to lawrenzo's argument, but how long will this take to implement and how much would it cost the city and other drivers while these solar panels are being built. I think it is an awesome idea, but is it feasible in the near future. I think if they built this in other areas or constructed the solar panels over building and houses in LA, this would probably be more feasible and manageable, wouldn't it?
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