CHRIS FORD OFFICE

CHRIS FORD OFFICE

REIs: Renewable Energy Infrastructures

Public power districts, State of Nebraska

September 2008—Present

If the architectural discipline is to reclaim its influence on the built environment, then it must conceive of research-led and performance-based solutions that address issues beyond aesthetic finishes and the market-serving provision of habitable space.   Furthermore, as issues and problems relating to the built environment become ever more layered and complex, integrated architect-led  interdisciplinary teams will become necessary to address them.

 

One such opportunity for leadership is infrastructure design, although it is historically shaped by the engineering discipline.  However, if we share Buckminster Fuller’s observation that “society operates on the theory that specialization is the key to success, not realizing that specialization precludes comprehensive thinking,” then as the discipline of Engineering requires higher modes of specialized thinking, architects remain in an advantageous position to continue to act comprehensively, and engage both technological and infrastructural innovation in a critical way.  The challenge for architects first lies in the recognition of their own comprehensive propensities, and then the deliberate engagement with true issues of infrastructural performance and associative yields.

 

An REI seeks to generate renewable energy megawatts (MW) at an industrial scale through the simultaneous harnessing of wind, solar, and geothermal resources, but within an integrated, holistic, and free-standing facility positioned in an urban environment.  An REI is not a retrofit of a pre-existing architectural condition, but rather is conceived as a new infrastructure typology to be owned and operated by an electrical utility for purposes of servicing users in high-population areas. 

Of the total amount of renewable energy currently generated in Nebraska, (153.2+ MW) 10%-15% of this amount will be lost during transfer due to degradation along transmission lines and processing through transformers. 

 

The REI v1.0 design assumes its construction would be a scalable, modular system where smaller portions of an REI can become operational prior to a complete build-out of the overall design.  This economic model for implementation would benefit from streams of funding over time and would only then yield the highest amounts of MW once completed.  The REI uses a piling foundation with a steel tube steel structural frame with galvanized finish.  Whereas the vertical-axis turbines are secured to the permanent site-specific tube steel frame, the photovoltaic modules are separate entities with their own structural rigidity.  These modules are composed of cast aluminum frames that allow for quick attachment and detachment to the fixed structural frame itself.  The REI v1.0 design has a total performative yield of 1.309 MW.

 

This REI scope of research / design work has been executed by a team within the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.  Team members include Justin Brouillette, Chris Ford, Krissy Harbert, Ryan Henrickson and Jon Miller.  This project was funded by the 2008-2010 Steward Professorship in Sustainable Design award, a 2009 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grant, and a 2009 energy research grant from the Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research.