This art installation will tell time and produce solar energy

Date:
Thu, 20 Jul 2023 19:00:00 +0000

Description:
Rendering of Arco del Tiempo (Arch of Time). The installation will act as an hourly art show, shady spot to cool down, and renewable energy generator.
LAGI Each year, the sculpture should generate 400,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. The post This art installation will tell time and produce solar energy appeared first on Popular Science .

FULL STORY ====================================================================== Rendering of Arco del Tiempo (Arch of Time). The installation will act as an hourly art show, shady spot to cool down, and renewable energy generator.
LAGI

The oldest known sundial was made in Egypt over 3,000 years ago, for telling the time as the sun passed through the days sky. Since then, weve upgraded
our time-telling technology significantlybut the fascination with tracking
the sun remains.

Today, the suns power is often discussed as a means to create clean,
renewable energy through solar photovoltaic and thermal cells. A recently announced permanent artwor k in the city of Houston, Texas makes a way to celebrate sun-centered technology over the eons. Artist and architect
Riccardo Mariano plans to build the worlds largest free-standing sundial
which will simultaneously generate clean energy. The 100-foot-tall arch is expected to produce around 400,000 kilowatt-hours of solar electricity each year, equivalent to the demand of around 40 Texas homes.

[Related: Scientists think we can get 90 percent clean energy by 2035 .]

Artist and architect Riccardo Mariano originally entered the idea, called the Arco del Tiempo (Arch of Time), in a Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) design competition for Abu Dhabi in 2019. The arch has found its new home, however, acting as an entrance to Houstons Second Ward community. The sculpture acts as a giant clock, as different beams of light create geometric shapes corresponding with the seasons of the year and the hours of the day on the ground and surfaces of the arch. At night, the arch will be used as a stage for concerts and other community events. Rendering of the Arco del Tiempo (Arch of Time) at night. Credit: LAGI.

The apparent movement of the sun in the sky activates the space with light
and colors and engages viewers who participate in the creation of the work by their presence, Mariano said in a release. It is a practical example to illustrate the movement of the earth around the sun in a playful way.

The south-facing exterior of the giant arch will be linked with solar
modules, which will allow the artwork itself to offset the power demand of
the nearby community arts center Talento Bilingue de Houston. Over its lifetime, LAGI states that the artwork will be able to generate over 12 million kilowatt-hours of energy, enough to pay back the footprint required
to create the artwork and its materials.

[Related: Solar panels are getting more efficient, thanks to perovskite. ]

This isnt the first, or likely the last, exploration of renewable energy as art . While some opponents to clean energy projects note the less-than-attractive appearance of solar panels or wind turbines lining the landscape, innovative projects can turn energy-generating projects into gorgeous murals to funky sculptures that double as charging stations .

Robert Ferry, one of the Land Art Generator Initiative co-founders, hopes the Arco del Tiempo can hopefully act as an antidote to climate despair in one of the most climate change-impacted regions in the US. The installation is
set to be completed in 2024.

The post This art installation will tell time and produce solar energy appeared first on Popular Science . Articles may contain affiliate links
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Link to news story: https://www.popsci.com/technology/sundial-art-solar-energy-houston/


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