Super Cloud

Super Cloud
Submission to the 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative Copenhagen design competition

Artist Team: Lucas Jarry, Rita Serra e Silva, Lucas Guyon, Marianne Ullmann
Artist Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Energy Technologies: piezoelectric discs

Super Cloud mimics the movement of wind patterns. As each tube floats between ground and sky, vibrating in the wind, it acts as a dynamic element within the landscape. Art, energy, and the land act together in a cohesive system, delivering clean, renewable energy.

The Cloud embraces, enhances, and interacts with its environment, amplifying its changing states. Shadows, vibrations, and reflections create a unique aesthetic experience through time, weather, and season.

Super Cloud is made up of pliable carbon fiber tubes. A steel space truss structure (270 meters x 60 meters) lifts from the ground and anchors approximately 14,500 tubes (ranging from 2 meters to 10 meters). Half of these tubes are fastened to the top of the structure while the other half hang from the bottom. The varied sizes of circular, sectioned tubes capture the ever-changing direction of the wind.

Located on a site that is largely exposed to wind patterns, the basis of energy production comes from converting kinetic energy into electrical energy. Piezoelectric generators at the base of each carbon element harvest the kinetic energy of the wind and transform it into electrical energy.

From afar, an enormous oscillating mass appears to rise from the land and drift over the sea, revealing an intriguing complexity of reflections and fluctuating light levels. Shivering softly with the wind, it clearly establishes its main purpose: permanent and continuous movement.

Closer to the Island, the structure’s enormous dimensions start to unfold and create a distinct image. What originally looked like a mass is now recognized as individual tubes that continuously resonate with the wind.