The Light Flows While Wind Blows
The Heart Island, Shinden Ichibangai
Tokyo, Japan
architecture by Urban Renaissance Agency, Iwamura Atelier Co., Ltd. and Co-operative Union Prod
construction completed in 2004


2005 IIDA / Paul Waterbury Award of Excellence
(details here)
2009 Town Development Encouragement Prize
The Heart Island, Shinden Ichibangai
photo © Toshio KANEKO
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The Heart Island, Shinden Ichibangai

2003-2005
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Specially for this project, power-generating windmills are constructed along the river to supply energy for illuminating devises. The Generators are 6m high, equipped with 3m-long blades which turn smoothly without noise and earn 2W in the 2m/sec (5mph) wind. Each one of the 140 fixtures installed in the walkway has seven LEDs; two blue lamps powered by wind-generating, one white and four reds connected to commercial power sources. White and red lamps, usually turned on, give pink emission symbolizing cherry blossom. The blue ones, switched on/off in accordance with the amount of wind-generated power, blend into the pink and turn some of them into purple. The more wind blows, the more fixtures become purple. While purple ripples on the walkway flood and ebb, people would feel waves of the natural power.


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