Solar Waterfall for 2016 Olympics

Soon enough the Olympics will be back in 2016 and so Swiss architecture firm RAFAA designed a concept solar power waterfall. It has been named the Solar City Tower, the building is equipped with solar panels, the solar energy to pump seawater to its top, and resulting falling water spins turbines that produce energy during the night. For special occasions, this tower can be transformed into an urban waterfall the designer calls "a symbol for the forces for nature." The firm RAFAA is looking to fill the building with an amphitheater, auditorium, cafeteria and shops. This solar city tower will even include a bungee jumping and a "glass sky walk" on the top of the tower.

RAFAA concept aims to ask how the classic concept of a landmark can be reconsidered. It is less about an expressive, iconic architectural form; rather, it is a return to content and actual, real challenges for the imminent post-oil-era. This project represents a message of a society facing the future; thus, it is the representation of an inner attitude. Our project, standing in the tradition of "a building/city as a machine", shall provide energy both to the city of Rio de Janeiro and its citizens while using natural resources."




via: Treehugger, RAFAA