Date: 2007

Status: concept

Category: Ecological design, Multisensory design, Landscape design.

Client: Muscheln city administration (Germany)

Team:

designers: Viktoria Bovtenko

Goal: to create a solar power system

Conception:

Problem: In the mean time thousands of meters of soil - big dormant careers are situated in Muscheln. Remained after coal production, they make the territory dead looking and lifeless. After all of resources were taken out from the ground, a lot of people lost their job and moved to other cities – the demographic crisis arose.

The city administration of Muscheln established a big project involving thousands of people and tens of years. The project of revegetation called “Muscheln Marina.” The conception lies in creation of a big entertainment/sports/educational complex around the artificial lake (former careers). The administration involved a lot of scientific, design, architectural, engineering and marketing organizations to create innovative solutions for revegetation of the place, for making this place popular, for creation of new working places for citizens.

Solution: The usage of a new power base sound station, which creates a unique space for having rest and entertainment, and propagandizes the new renewable sources of energy (in contrast to bygone times of coal production that exhausted the city).

“SOLARIA” uses solar heat for heating the water (for cooking food, swimming pools, shower). In summer time, “SOLARIA” serves as a local heating system for “Muscheln Marina”. In autumn and winter, it heats the water to prolong a swimming season. Heating system: water in the pipe gets into absorber, turns to a boil, and gets inside the pipe to the city.

“SOLARIA” is created based on multisensory design principles. Besides the visual environment, “SOLARIA” creates the sound environment. 34 strings are tightened along the frame of the station. When it is windy, strings sounds like a big guitar or a harp – the unique interactive sound space is created.