RAFAA Designs Beaming Modular Towers for the BrightSource Solar Plant in the Mojave

Construction is underway for one of the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/mojave-desert-solar-power-fields/">world's largest solar plants</a> in the Mojave Desert, and from the renderings we've seen, it's going to be pretty visually enticing in addition to being a renewable source of energy. Three separate plants, operated by BrightSource Energy, will be built by 2013 and one of them is already under construction. <a href="http://inhabitat.com/a-high-tech-bike-share-plan-for-copenhagen/" target="_blank">RAFAA Architecture &amp; Design</a> was kind enough to share with us their proposal for the spiraling Solar Plant Towers, which include modular design and construction as well as a lifecycle assessment, efficient use of materials and end of life recycling.

Option A made form concrete compares the precast concrete modular design versus the slip form.

Inspiration from the design came from lightwaves and was wrapped into a helix to form a column with diamond holes cut into the tower for aesthetic and structural purposes.

While conceptualizing the different options, RAFAA sought to achieve a high performances and efficiencies in terms of structural integrity, material usage and sustainability.

Option A concrete tower sitting in a field of heliostats.

Option A is a constructed of modular precast concrete or slip-form parts that would be transported and then assembled on site.

This first option seems to answer to a set of parameters that <a href="http://inhabitat.com/brightsource-energy-gets-1-4-billion-loan-for-massive-solar-thermal-complex/">BrightSource</a> was seeking in their request for proposals, however RAFAA feels in the long run lightweight steel would provide a better solution both economically and sustainably than concrete.

Therefor, they also came up with Option B, a square tower with a twist in the middle constructed of prefabricated 40-ft long steel elements.

Option B takes inspiration from BrightSource's logo and Luz, which is light in Hebrew.

RAFAA proposes that steel is more sustainable in the long run because it would create a smaller construction footprint causing less damage to the environment.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/solar-city-tower-for-rio-olympics-giant-energy-generating-waterfall/">solar tower</a> can always be dismantled and moved to a new location or sold to another company when it is time to upgrade or the material can be recycled at the end of its life whereas concrete cannot.

Option B constructed from prefabricated steel parts sitting in a field of heliostats.