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Tiny Houses

Morphocode wants to put studio lofts on top of offshore wind turbines

By James Holloway
July 18, 2013
Morphocode wants to put studio lofts on top of offshore wind turbines
Morphocode's offshore wind turbine loft concept (Image: Morphocode)
Morphocode's offshore wind turbine loft concept (Image: Morphocode)
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Wind trends, as Morphocode sees them (Image: Morphocode)
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Wind trends, as Morphocode sees them (Image: Morphocode)
Morphocode's offshore wind turbine loft concept (Image: Morphocode)
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Morphocode's offshore wind turbine loft concept (Image: Morphocode)
Morphocode's reasoning that offshore turbines will require the permanent presence of maintenance crews (Image: Morphocode)
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Morphocode's reasoning that offshore turbines will require the permanent presence of maintenance crews (Image: Morphocode)
The wind turbine loft is an aerodynamically-shaped living space doubling as the rotor hub of the turbine (Image: Morphocode)
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The wind turbine loft is an aerodynamically-shaped living space doubling as the rotor hub of the turbine (Image: Morphocode)
Inside the wind turbine loft (Image: Morphocode)
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Inside the wind turbine loft (Image: Morphocode)
Morphocode's reasoning that offshore turbines will require the permanent presence of maintenance crews (Image: Morphocode)
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Morphocode's reasoning that offshore turbines will require the permanent presence of maintenance crews (Image: Morphocode)
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With an idea sure to raise hopes, eyebrows and hackles in roughly equal proportions, architectural outfit Morphocode has cooked up the idea of building loft apartments into offshore wind turbines.

Offshore turbines can be surprisingly large, with Siemens' 75-m B75 blades creating a sweep of 154-m diameter which is plenty big enough to swallow an Airbus A380. Morphocode predicts that offshore turbines will become larger still in the next few years, and points to the European Commission's 2008 Communication on offshore wind energy which said that the contribution made by offshore wind in Europe "can and must" increase "in the order of 30-40 times by 2020 and 100 times by 2030" in installed capacity compared to 2008 figures.

Morphocode's reasoning is not that such turbines will make ideal pads for those looking to away from it all (and then some), but that they will require the permanent presence of maintenance crews to watch over them (if not actually repair them), monitoring their performance to ensure that they're working optimally. Hence its wind turbine loft, an aerodynamically-shaped living space doubling as the rotor hub of the turbine.

Not that Morphocode has entirely divorced the romance of the sea from its concept. "Wind turbine loft is a secluded retreat in the vastness of the sea where time is marked by the rotation of the blades while the horizon line remains the only static element in this ever-changing landscape," it writes.

It's a charming idea, but, one suspects, an extremely improbable one.

Source: Morphocode, via Dvice

View gallery - 6 images

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Tiny HousesHouseWind turbineOffshore WindMorphocode
18 comments
James Holloway
James writes about science and technology from his home in rural East Anglia. Whether it's the internet, nature, video games or AI, he pays particular heed to the flash points with culture, society and the planet.

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18 comments
Bob Ehresman
Talk about a room with a view... But doesnt everyone want to live (not to mention sleep) somewhere permeated with a rhythmic basso profundo whumping sound?
I know I do.... NOT!
Jeff King
This sounds like the modern day equivalent of the light-house keeper. It would be great except for a few minor problems. First, if it's off-shore, wouldn't it be kind of hard to entertain guests or even grab a quart of milk when you needed it? Second, the noise from the gears and generator would be horrible. Third, image search Google for "wind turbine fire" and see what happens when things go wrong. Not a pretty picture.
BigGoofyGuy
It is like the modern version of light house keepers. Some of them were isolated and have a similar problem getting to and from it plus getting supplies.
Perhaps instead of a permament residence, perhaps for emergencies and as a work shop to repair items that need maintanence.
dave be
Interesting concept. Now take a moment and goto amazon to look at any review for any air conditioner. The first and primary complaint about any of them, the noise level. Now consider richer, pickier people being sold high end apartments with a MW generator strapped to the wall instead of a kw motor.
you'd have to sound isolate the entire structure away from the rest of the pylon. It would be incredibly expensive just with that addition.
Roma Khudoleyev
If the noise, safety, and supply factors could be addressed, this could actually be a pretty good idea.
BadBadger
Just because it might be a grand idea to put a wind turbine on top of a house, does not mean that the reverse is true.
Pipedog42
If they used the apartments as the homes for the , co-op mentality, maintenance crew, instead of the uber-rich ..... I think it has promise.
The noise and vibrations would make it useless as a luxury dwelling, but as free housing with infinite free electric for a mildly trained worker(s), it could totally work.
Vince Pack
I love the idea save one concern - how much EMR would the inhabitants be exposed to? Would living only a few meters from an enormous generator also cause problems for cell reception, wifi, etc?
My understanding is many (all?) turbine towers have an elevator for generator room and turbine access. In the event of a fire, I guess one could set up a hasty rappel? BASE jump? Cool escape pod launcher? How about a slide that spirals it's way down around the tower?
Slowburn
Aerodynamically It is a stupid place for the apartment. The back side of the tower rotating with the wind would work much better. For people that don't throw a hissyfit every time something annoys them repetitive sounds cease to bother them. Even things like being under an airports takeoff route. The big thing is that the wind turbines do not need onsite supervision you can monitor their operations from half way around the world if you wanted to. Once the wind farm gets big enough it is a full time job to do routine maintenance single turbines do not require it. Given the health risks real and imagined it would be better to have the worker live on a boat.
Er. A.K.Mittal
"........ It's a charming idea, but ..... an extremely improbable one. " How is it improbable? Wind farms are on the rise in size and numbers. The size of each turbine unit is increasing, What do you expect or fore see in terms of surveillance and maintenance of equipment? The crews will have to posted on long term basis, on lines similar to offshore drilling rigs in oil industry. And hence the need for suitable living-working quarters! If not at turbine height then at sea level. Which ever is feasible and suitable as per the topography of the site in question!
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