Inhabitat: Massive Floating Sails Could Harness Wind and Wave Energy to Power Copenhagen’s Electric Grid

Massive Floating Sails Could Harness Wind and Wave Energy to Power Copenhagen’s Electric Grid
August 20, 2014 By Lucy Wang

"Artist Felix Cheong designed Oscillating Platforms, a proposal for an off-grid floating art installation submitted to the 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) design competition. Outfitted with colorful and eye-catching sails, each freeform platform creates opportunities for artists to showcase their talents while harvesting tidal and wind energy to generate electricity. By harnessing renewable energy, the Oscillating Platforms can teach the public about sustainable energy and has the potential to offset the energy use of approximately 1,539 Copenhagen residents per year."

Read More >

Fast Company

Who Says Power Plants Have To Be Ugly? This Sculpture Reinvents Wind Power As Art
In a new design for a Copenhagen park, the giant sails of the Windwaker sculpture gently gust in the wind, producing enough beauty to power 90 homes.

August 18, 2014 By Adele Peters

Wind turbines aren't necessarily considered beautiful. Just ask the developers behind the offshore Cape Wind project, who have fought off opposition for 13 years--and 26 lawsuits--in part because some residents didn't want the wind farm to spoil views. But in a new proposed design for a park in Copenhagen, the wind farm is art.

More >

KULTUR M — Copenhagen

LAGI Founding Directors Robert Ferry & Elizabeth Monoian will be speaking at KULTUR M at the Copenhagen Natural History Museum on Oct. 27. Hope to see you there! www.culturenordic.com/events

Blue & Green Tomorrow

Green ‘energy duck’ to bring clean, solar energy to Copenhagen
August 5, 2014 By Jemma Collins

Read More >

DR.DK

Briter vil have mastodontisk and til Københavns Havn
August 4, 2014, By Martin Kunzendorf

Read more here >

Sustainability Salon on Environmental Art

LAGI will be taking part in the 31st edition of the Putting Down Roots Sustainability Salon from 2-10pm on August 16th at Dr. Maren Leyla Cooke's home in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. If you are interested in attending, please see the post on Maren's List and use the RSVP link there.

We will be presenting along with Ann Rosenthal, and Tom and Connie Merriman. From the post:

The 31st Sustainability Salon will focus on environmental art: art that teaches us about the natural environment, art that makes us think about our relationship to it, and art that is in direct service to the environment—and thus to humanity, for we are part of it.

Dr. Maren Leyla Cooke's Green Home in Pittsburgh

Designboom

Designboom
Solar energy duck could generate renewable power for Copenhagen
August 3, 2014

Read more here >

Time Magazine: Giant Floating Duck Proposed to Bring Green Energy to Copenhagen

Time Magazine
Giant Floating Duck Proposed to Bring Green Energy to Copenhagen
August 3, 2014, By Nolan Feeney

"Here’s an idea for energy sustainability that’s not mere quackery: A team of British designers and artists have proposed a floating tourist attraction that would gather solar energy in Copenhagen Harbor as the Danish city works to become carbon-neutral by the year 2025."

Read more >

Energy Duck Has Made a Splash!

You can read more about Energy Duck, a submission to the 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative competition for Copenhagen by following the below media links or the LAGI blog post. This playful design utilizes photovoltaic panels. The London based team is comprised of Hareth Pochee, Adam Khan, Louis Leger, and Patrick Fryer.

Time Magazine
Giant Floating Duck Proposed to Bring Green Energy to Copenhagen
August 3, 2014, By Nolan Feeney

Designboom
Solar energy duck could generate renewable power for Copenhagen
August 3, 2014

Mother Nature Network
This plus-sized duck would provide Copenhagen with clean energy
July 18, 2014, By Matt Hickman

Discovery
Tasty Tech Eye Candy Of The Week (July 20)
July 20, 2014, By Tracy Staedter

Gizmag
Artists design giant PV-packing floating duck for the city of Copenhagen
July 18, 2014, By Bridget Borgobello

Architecture and Design
London artists design giant ‘Energy Duck’ to generate electricity for Copenhagen
July 18, 2014

Inhabitat
Gigantic 'Energy Duck' Could Generate Solar and Hydro Power for Copenhagen
July 14, 2014, By Beverley Mitchell

Copenhagen Post
A giant duck and a cloud structure: plans for the capital's waters
July 23, 2014, By Lawrence Shanahan

All About Copenhagen Guide
Skal København have en kæmpe, flydende energi-and?
July 22, 2014, By Kaspar Mørk

European Commission
Energy Duck could generate Solar and Hydro Power
July 24, 2014

PV Magazine
Giant PV duck energizes Copenhagen design competition
July 21, 2014, By Edgar Meza

The Creators Project
A Duck-Shaped Solar Pavilion Could Help Power Copenhagen
July 18, 2014, By Beckett Mufson

All About Copenhagen Guide

All About Copenhagen Guide (aok.dk) posted this wonderful selection of LAGI 2014 submissions.
Se de vilde billeder: Hele verden designer energi-arkitektur til København
More here >

Inhabitat: Gigantic ‘Energy Duck’ Could Generate Solar and Hydro Power for Copenhagen

Gigantic 'Energy Duck' Could Generate Solar and Hydro Power for Copenhagen
by Beverley Mitchell

The Energy Duck is a submission to the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) 2014, this year held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Designed by the London-based team of Hareth Pochee, Adam Khan, Louis Leger, and Patrick Fryer, the iconic and engaging public artwork proposal is a renewable energy generator and storehouse, an interactive and educative tourist destination, and a celebration of local wildlife.

The Energy Duck is modeled on the common eider duck, which is found in the waters of Copenhagen. Unfortunately, the eider’s breeding habitat is at risk from the effects of climate change, so the team decided to use its form to raise awareness of the local impacts of a global issue. The appealing, 12-storey high sculpture is proposed to float in the waters of the city’s harbor. It would be constructed from a lightweight steel frame, with very lightweight steel supporting a skin of photovoltaic panels and dummy panels.

Read more >

Freedom Radio


LAGI directors on Freedom Radio with LaToya Williams, Creative Director of IERN WILL

Discussion at Conservation Consultants

Please join the Land Art Generator Initiative & Conservation Consultants in Pittsburgh on June 11 from 7–8 pm for a lecture and discussion about the aesthetics of renewable energy infrastructure and the role that creatives can play in the design of our energy future.

CCI Center
64 S. 14th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Wednesday
June 11, 2014
7–8 pm

Powered by Art

Lecture at the University of Oregon

LAGI Directors, Robert Ferry & Elizabeth Monoian, have been invited to speak at the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts on May 15, 2014 at 6pm.

Shawati’ Magazine

Shawati' Magazine
Eye Opening Art: From Abu Dhabi to Copenhagen
Spring 2014

This lovely article in the spring issue of Abu Dhabi's Shawati' magazine provides a background of the Land Art Generator Initiative. LAGI is honored that Shawati' is our media partner for 2014!

Public Art Review

The Vision Behind the Land Art Generator Initiative
A video interview with Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry

"The Land Art Generator Initiative has formulated an approach to design thinking that intrigued us since the moment we first found out about them. We wanted to know more about their vision and mission, so we asked them for an in-person interview. This video will take you behind the scenes with Elizabeth and Robert as they give us insight into their work from the development of the initiative to the implementation of actual projects."

More >

Imaginative Engagement

Imaginative Engagement programme at Renewable Energy Marketplace
Tuesday, April 8
Exeter, UK

People want to engage in energy issues, but the way they do it needs to be interesting!
These inspiring people are involved in creative ways to engage people in the sustainable energy and climate change debate.

13:30 Robert Ferry & Elizabeth Monoian, Land Art Generator Initiative
Public Art and the Aesthetics of Renewable Energy

The talk will highlight the background of the Land Art Generator Initiative in the context of art history, urban planning, and the net-zero energy construction movement.

Athenaeum Lectures

Athenaeum Lectures
Dialogues in Art and Architecture, 22nd Season (La Jolla, California)
Moderated by Robert Pincus

Thursday, April 10
Renewable Energy and Positive Impact Buildings
Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian, Land Art Generator Initiative

The series is coordinated by the Athenaeum with artist and environmental sculptor Joyce Cutler-Shaw. The program is co-sponsored by the San Diego New School of Architecture, as well as the San Diego Council of Design Professionals, the San Diego Architectural Foundation, and Public Address.

Huffington Post: Creating Connections With Nature Via Art

Creating Connections With Nature Via Art
Huffington Post
February 23, 2014
by Carmen Zella

This type of art has been so inspiring that there has even been entire organizations centered around it. The Land Art Generator Initiative is one of them. They seek to promote sustainable design solutions by integrating art with renewable energy infrastructures. This organization is currently asking for entries for their LAGI 2014 Design competition. They are looking for entries that utilize public art into something that can also create clean energy. This is a little different than the land art, which was mentioned before, yet it is still drawing the attention back to the earth through the use of art. They, however, seek to do this in a more productive way. Ideas are welcomed to be submitted up till May 18.

This type of art offers an entirely new way of interacting with nature and truly does create a relationship between the artist and the earth. In modern times, this connection is vital to our future. I believe that art really can change the world. Both art and nature are purely inspirational. Put together, they might possibly provide us with the key for a bright and long future.

Design Competition unites civic art and energy production in Copenhagen

Design Competition unites civic art and energy production in Copenhagen
By Martin Kunzendorf

Henover årsskiftet, kunne folkene bag den amerikanske organisation 'LAGI - Land Art Generator Initiative' hæve glassene og erklære konkurrencen om at skabe et bæredygtigt og energiproducerende kunstværk til København for åben.
Værket skal være offentligt tilgængeligt og generere strøm til elnettet, samt designes specifikt til en grund på Refshaleøen i København - direkte overfor Den Lille Havfrue på den modsatte side af havnen.

Kombination af æstetik og funktion
LAGI arbejder for at bringe kunstnere, arkitekter, ingeniører og videnskabsfolk sammen, for at skabe nye løsninger for bæredygtige energianlæg, der kombinerer æstetik og funktion.
Typisk er miljøvenlige energikilder ikke ønsket nogen steder og selv de stærkeste miljøforkæmpere, vil hverken have solcelleanlæg eller vindmøller i deres baghave, fortæller den ene af LAGI's stiftere Elisabeth Monoian til dr.dk/viden.
Derimod er offentlige kunstværker noget, som alle byer ønsker sig og som både kan skal stolthed og blive til overskudsgivende turistmagneter. Og vi vil forene de to, forklarer hun.

Read More >

Public Art Review

Trash to Treasure: Conceptual projects imagine a renewable future for the world's biggest junkyard
By Joe Hart
Cover image:
A submission to LAGI 2012 by Paolo Venturella, Alessandro Balducci, Gilberto Bonelli, Rocco Valantines, Mario Emanuele Salini, Pietro Bodria

LAGI at TEDx Copenhagen

There will be a small LAGI exhibition during the TEDx Copenhagen Salon event "Green Natives."

The event is December 9th, 2013 in the UN City.

"In the Seventies, they told us to turn off the tap when brushing our teeth, and we began to fear that acid rain would destroy nature. In the Eighties we followed the voyages of the original Rainbow Warrior, and learned that spray cans were eating the ozone layer like Pac-Man on speed. In the Nineties we bought pieces of the shrinking Amazon while a metallic forest of windmills arose. And ever since, we have been exposed to corporate shills and quislings, COPs, melting icebergs, rising oceans, and a gathering storm that is casting its shadow ever longer and blacker upon our tomorrow.

We are all Green Natives – people born and raised in a world aware of climate changes and our planet’s limited resources.

But will we act on what we know?

Some of us have already begun"

http://tedxcopenhagen.dk/green-natives/

LAGI Lecture: Royal Danish Academy, School of Architecture

Join LAGI at the Royal Danish Academy, School of Architecture in Copenhagen for a presentation to learn about LAGI and the 2014 competition for Copenhagen and surrounding municipalities.

LAGI 2014 Copenhagen invites interdisciplinary teams from around the world to submit their ideas for what infrastructure art of sustainable cities looks like. The call is to envision public art that provides renewable energy to the grid, and in other ways provides ecologically symbiotic services to the people of Denmark.

Speakers
Robert Ferry
LAGI Director & Co-Founder

Elizabeth Monoian
LAGI Director & Co-Founder

Lea Schick
LAGI 2014 Project Manager

Location
Auditorium 2
Royal Danish Academy
School of Architecture

Date
November 27

Time
3pm

Issues in Science and Technology

Journal of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, University of Texas at Dallas, and Arizona State University
Fall 2013
8-page graphic spread featuring 12 submissions to LAGI design competitions
more about the journal

weather.com

10MW Tower, a skyscraper designed by LAGI's co-founder, Robert Ferry, is featured in weather.com

10MW Tower in Dubai: Live In a Skyscraper That Acts as a Power Plant
By Jess Baker

The 10MW Tower is a dazzling residential skyscraper proposed for a neighborhood in Dubai. But the tower isn't just a place to live; it's a renewable energy machine that would essentially act as a power plant.

The skyscraper is the brainchild of Pittsburgh-based architecture firm Studied Impact. The "MW" in the tower's name stands for megawatt. Studied Impact's co-founder Robert Ferry explains three systems in the tower – a horizontal access wind turbine, a concentrated solar power armature and a solar updraft tower about two-thirds of the way up the structure – would combine to create 10 megawatts of power.

read more >

A Reading With Ann Rosenthal At Arsenal Gallery

A reading with Ann Rosenthal
Contributor to Regenerative Infrastructures, published by Prestel

Thursday, August 22, 2013 // 6:00 p.m.
The Arsenal Gallery
Central Park, 64th Street and Fifth Avenue

"Our civilization has been built on non-renewable resources and an outmoded presumption that nature is limitless. Certainly art will continue to serve many purposes; however, for artists and designers who choose to engage in what Joanna Macy terms The Great Turning, what is the role of beauty?" Ann Rosenthal

Ann Rosenthal’s art installations address the local manifestation of global concerns, including climate change, food safety, and nuclear waste. Her work has been shown over the last decade at The Andy Warhol Museum and the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, Exit Art and the Hudson River Museum in New York, the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Philadelphia, and Kunsthaus Kaufbeuren in Germany.

Ms. Rosenthal’s essays have been published most recently online in “Atomic Legacy Art” in the Women Environmental Artists Directory Magazine and the peer-reviewed Ecopsychology Journal. She teaches environmental art and design courses in Pittsburgh, and has developed an online graduate course, “Introduction to Eco/Community Art” for Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She received her MFA from Carnegie Mellon University in 1999. Ms. Rosenthal owns an industrial building in Pittsburgh where she directs LOCUS—a creative commons where art, community, and ecology meet.

Regenerative Infrastructures was partially funded through:
Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund

I’d Tap That: Staten Island’s Untapped Resources Staten Island Trivia Night

I’d Tap That: Staten Island’s Untapped Resources: Staten Island Trivia Night
with Jay Miller and Staten Island Arts Wednesday, August 7, 2013 // 6:00 p.m.
The Arsenal Gallery, Central Park, 64th Street and Fifth Avenue

Urban Energy Generation and Public Space

Join LAGI & others for a discussion on Urban Energy Generation and Public Space at the Arsenal Gallery. Thursday, July 25, 2013 // 6:00 p.m. Arsenal Gallery, NYC

How will the expansion of distributed energy generation influence the approach to design of public space in New York and other cities in the coming decades? In this panel discussion, we’ll hear about existing and proposed projects, and about policies and incentives to facilitate change.

Presenters
Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian, LAGI
Anne Guiney, Institute for Urban Design
Seema Pandya, YR&G
Jennifer Sage, Peter Coombe, Andrew Kao, and Allen Slamic, of Sage and Coombe Architects

Urban Energy Generation and Public Space

Join LAGI & others for a discussion on Urban Energy Generation and Public Space at the Arsenal Gallery. Thursday, July 25, 2013 // 6:00 p.m. Arsenal Gallery, NYC

How will the expansion of distributed energy generation influence the approach to design of public space in New York and other cities in the coming decades? In this panel discussion, we’ll hear about existing and proposed projects, and about policies and incentives to facilitate change.

Presenters
Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian, LAGI
Anne Guiney, Institute for Urban Design
Seema Pandya, YR&G
Jennifer Sage, Peter Coombe, Andrew Kao, and Allen Slamic, of Sage and Coombe Architects

LAGI Summer Events at Arsenal Gallery

We are looking forward to our Regenerative Infrastructures book launch and exhibition of LAGI 2012 NYC winning and shortlisted submissions at Arsenal Gallery! There will be several related events as listed below.

Land Art Generator Initiative: Freshkills Park
Opening Reception and Book Launch
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
From 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Arsenal Gallery
The Arsenal Central Park
830 Fifth Avenue at 64th Street
Third Floor
New York City

Exhibition open from: June 27 – August 30, 2013

Related Gallery Programs

Wednesday, July 10, 6:00 p.m.
Lecture about Freshkills Park and its future
with Angelyn Chandler, NYC Parks & Recreation, Freshkills Park Capital Program Manager

Thursday, July 25, 6:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion on Urban Energy Generation and Public Space
with Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian, LAGI; Anne Guiney, Institute for Urban Design; and Jennifer Sage, Peter Coombe, Andrew Kao, and Allen Slamic, of Sage and Coombe Architects

Wednesday, August 7, 6:00 p.m.
Staten Island Trivia Night: “I'd Tap That: Staten Island’s Untapped Resources”
with Melanie Cohn, Staten Island Arts

Thursday, August 22, 6:00 p.m.
Reading with Ann Rosenthal, contributor to Regenerative Infrastructures
published by Prestel.

Park Tour
Saturday, August 3, 2013, 10:00 a.m.
Tour of Freshkills Park, Staten Island

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE

Invite Image:
Scene-Sensor // Crossing Social and Ecological Flows
James Murray & Shota Vashakmadze

The publication, Regenerative Infrastructures, was made possible with the support of Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

This exhibition was made possible with the generous support of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Landscape Architects Network

A Canvas For Sustainability: Generating Energy Through Land Art
by Fergus McCarthy

Initiatives such as the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) promote the re-invention of energy generation through a creative acumen. The LAGI competition has become a breeding ground for advances in technology through creative thinking by artists and designers. It encourages interdisciplinary teams to take part in the internationally recognized competition, resulting in some of the most aesthetically pleasing and energy-efficient land art concepts to grace the Earth.

read more

LAGI at The World Science Festival

Please join LAGI at the World Science Festival’s signature event "Innovation Square" on Saturday, June 1, from 12-8pm in downtown Brooklyn.

"The event will once again transform the NYU Polytechnic campus at MetroTech Center in downtown Brooklyn into a staging ground for future-shaping innovations that are springing to life in labs, workshops, basements and backyards of inventors and researchers worldwide. It’s an unforgettable day of amazing demos, challenges, and interactivity—a showcase of the “best of the best” in the fields of science and technology."

atelierDNA will join LAGI, to demonstrate the science and experience of Windstalk.

Come by and say hello and pick up your free Field Guide to Renewable Energy Technologies.

For more information about the event please visit the following links:
http://worldsciencefestival.com
http://worldsciencefestival.com/events/innovation_square2013
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-06/video-what-we-saw-world-science-festivals-innovation-square

Exhibition & Book Launch at Arsenal Gallery (NYC)

Exhibition & Book Launch at Arsenal Gallery, Central Park (NYC)
Opening Night: Wednesday June 26, 2013
6–8 pm

Please join us for the opening of an exhibition of LAGI2012 submissions for Freshkills Park. Opening night is June 26 with a book launch for Regenerative Infrastructures.

Throughout June, July, and August there will be in conjunction events including panel discussions, lectures, and essay readings. Detailed information will be posted soon.

Exhibition runs from June 26–August 23

Green Building & Design

Green Building & Design
May/June 2013 Editor’s Picks
By Timothy A. Schuler

"Each time we put our mark on the land, we accept the ‘terms and conditions’ of the Earth, which state plainly that what we build will not last forever. This idea is well represented below in the contrast between the nascent design work happening at Freshkills Park and the practically post-apocalyptic slog of Detroit. Wherever they fall on the spectrum, here are six things we guarantee will leave you thinking about the sustainability of our cities." ....

"The Land Art Generator Initiative’s 2012 competition involved a site within Freshkills Park, a 2,200-acre former landfill now maintained by New York City’s parks and recreation department. Proposals for art that also generated clean energy came from around the world, visions of giant screens laced with piezoelectric wires (the winner), cornucopia-like wind farms, even 99 red balloons, which unlike those in the song would be 50 feet tall and lined with transparent solar cells. Sifting through them is like watching a movie trailer for the future."

More here

Regenerative Infrastructures

Regenerative Infrastructures

We are very pleased to announce the release of Regenerative Infrastructures, available now at Amazon and other retail outlets. This hardbound book, beautifully designed by Paul Schifino, is an in-depth exploration of the Land Art Generator Initiative for Freshkills Park on New York's Staten Island. It is an excellent resource for everyone who is interested in the design of our renewable energy future.

In addition to showcasing details of 65 thought-provoking entries to the 2012 LAGI design competition, the book contains essays on art, urban ecology, and energy landscapes by writers such as Thaddeus Pawlowski (NYC City Planning, Urban Planning Dept.), Eloise Hirsh (Freshkills Parks Administrator, NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation), Heather Rogers (Independent Journalist and contributor to New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones,and The Nation), Tafline Laylin (Independent Journalist and contributor to Inhabitat and Green Prophet), Mitchell Joachim (Terreform One), Ann Rosenthal (ecoartist and educator), Andreas Kipar (Landscape Architect), and Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry (co-founders of LAGI).


Please join us on June 26 at Arsenal Gallery in Central Park. We will be celebrating the opening of the LAGI 2012 exhibit and launching the book. The exhibition will showcase the shortlisted proposals, and will be up until late August. There will be events in conjunction every two weeks, and we really look forward to seeing everyone and engaging in interesting conversations around energy and art. We'll send another newsletter update in early June with more information and event dates.





Details from the Prestel Spring Catalog:

REGENERATIVE INFRASTRUCTURES: FRESHKILLS PARK NYC, LAND ART GENERATOR INITIATIVE

EDITED BY CAROLINE KLEIN AND LAGI, IN COOPERATION WITH NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS & RECREATION, THE INSTITUTE FOR URBAN DESIGN, AND THE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS & HUMANITIES FOR STATEN ISLAND

Formerly a symbol of immense urban waste, the Fresh Kills Landfill is being transformed into an enormous parkland that is destined to exemplify the values of ecological restoration and environmental sustainability. Part of that transformation includes a competition for a site-specific public artwork designed to operate as a source of clean energy for the city utility grid. This volume features many of the top submissions to the Land Art Generator Initiative, which aims to create sustainable design solutions that integrate art and technology into renewable energy infrastructure around the world.

The book draws a much-needed connection between the two critical issues of sustainable development—energy generation and waste management—highlighting solutions that address both problems at once, thereby creating economically beneficial hybrid utility installations.

CAROLINE KLEIN is an architect and freelance author and editor for international architectural magazines and publishing houses.

THE LAND ART GENERATOR INITIATIVE, founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry, brings together artists, architects, scientists, landscape architects, and engineers to advance sustainable design solutions for large-scale renewable energy infrastructure.

240 pages with 250 illustrations; Hardcover; 11 x 9 in. / 28 x 23 cm; ISBN 978-3-7913-5286-2; Publication date: May 2013.







LAGI Presentation at The David O’Brian Centre for Sustainable Enterprise

LAGI will be giving a special presentation at The David O'Brian Centre for Sustainable Enterprise at the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University (Montreal).

DATE: February 14, 2013
TIME: Noon to 1:30PM

More information here.

Planet

Artful Energy: Generating Power at Freshkills
By Jordan Sayle

"Imagine a power plant in the middle of a wildlife sanctuary. Try to picture an energy source as a work of art. That’s exactly what the Land Art Generator Initiative asked designers and architects to do. For its second site-specific design competition, the non-profit organization (LAGI for short), sought to inspire plans for land art installations with the duel function of being both ornamental attractions for visitors and sources of renewable energy. This time, the initiative found a kindred spirit in a parks department that has asked citizens to envision a dumping ground as a place of natural beauty.

When LAGI’s directors were considering places on which to focus their 2012 contest, New York City’s Freshkills Park seemed like the ideal choice. The location’s transformation from what was once the world’s largest landfill to a 2,200-acre preserve is now being undertaken in stages over a 30-year development phase with a similar intent as the one informing LAGI’s own mission — questioning assumptions and repairing environmental damage with smart sustainable methods. And when it comes to alternative energy, the park has already begun harvesting methane from decomposing garbage to heat area homes.

In LAGI’s ultimate goal of one day witnessing the construction of “the world’s first work of public art, slash sustainable utility-scale power plant,” environmental stewardship goes hand in hand with the establishment of a public gathering place, just as it does in the ongoing overhaul of Freshkills."

read more

The Future of Energy Looks Good

Please join us on Monday, January 14, 2013 for the opening of an exhibit at thejamjar in Dubai. Twenty-five of the design proposals from the 2012 Land Art Generator Initiative for Freshkills Park, NYC will be on display, along with four of the 2010 proposals for the United Arab Emirates and some educational information about renewable energy and the UAE.

We'll also be holding workshops and a panel discussion over the duration of the exhibit. The events that are open to the public are as follows:

Workshop
January 19
10am – 4pm

Panel Discussion
January 23
7pm – 9pm

More details are coming soon. Sign up for our mailing list (the red circle up top) to keep up to date. Hope to see you there!

Support for these events comes from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Canadian Architect

Canadian Architect
Winners of the 2012 Land Art Generator Initiative Competition Announced

Conservation Magazine

Conservation Magazine
Artsy Energy Hits New York

"Last year in the Art & Science section, we featured ideas for beautiful, yet functional, renewable-energy projects designed for Abu Dhabi and Dubai in a contest sponsored by the Land Art Generator Initiative (“Powered By Art,” Spring 2012). This October, LAGI announced the winners of its second design competition: a call for renewable-energy installations for Freshkills Park (formerly Fresh Kills Landfill) on New York’s Staten Island. From hundreds of entrants, top honors went to screens that ripple in the breeze, generating wind power with interwoven piezoelectric fibers, and to a series of mounds that house wind turbines and CO2 scrubbers."
read more