Wind-Powered Winner of the Piraeus Tower Redesign Competition

<a href="http://www.greekarchitects.gr/competition2010/piraeus/en/proclamation" target="_blank">The Piraeus Tower</a> in Piraeus, Greece has long been called the "Sleeping Giant", as it has not been completed since construction started 30 years ago. A competition sponsored by <a href="http://www.greekarchitects.gr/gr/home">GreekArchitects.gr</a> and Dupont called for architects to envision the tower in modern times with a new facade in order to establish the tower as the landmark it was meant to be. The <a href="http://www.greekarchitects.gr/competition2010/piraeus/en/competition_awards" target="_blank">winner of the competition</a> is the Windscraper Tower by New York City-based <a href="http://www.hwkn.com/" target="_blank">HWKN Architects</a>, which is characterized by a network of multi-purpose wind generating "leaves" on the facade of the building.

HWKN proposed to sheathe the exterior of the building in a wind harvesting facade that serves three purposes.

First the facade is composed of artificial "leaves" that collect the wind and transform it into usable energy.

The leaves also act as a tree canopy -- when the wind blows it makes a gentle sound much like leaves in the breeze. This is intended to give the occupants a connection with the natural environment.

Finally, the facade acts as a shade canopy, protecting the interior from solar gain and facilitating natural ventilation to provide cooling.

The Piraeus Tower as it stands now - basically empty and unfinished.

The competition was sponsored by GreekArchitects.gr and Dupont. They sought proposals to transform the "Sleeping Giant" into a landmark for the area.