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Nano Vent-Skin has been included in the book Smart Surfaces – and their Application in Architecture and Design. (Birkhauser, Germany 2009).

Nano Vent-Skin ha sido publicado en el libro Smart Surfaces – and their Application in Architecture and Design.. (Birkhauser, Alemania 2009).

Renewable Energy Magazine has published an article and an interview about Nano Vent Skin. (Spain, March 2010).

Renewable Energy Magazine ha publicado un artículo y una entrevista acerca de Nano Vent Skin. (España, Marzo 2010).

Nano Vent-Skin has been included in the book Architecture of Change 2. (Gestalten Books, Germany 2009).

Nano Vent-Skin ha sido publicado en el libro Architecture of Change 2. (Gestalten Books, Alemania 2009).

It’s crazy… but it might just work
Petrol stations that grow biofuels. Protocells that save Venice. Visionary architects are putting science at the heart of their bold plans to green the planet

1 Energy-generating skins for buildings
Visionary: Agustin Otegui, 29, a designer in Mexico City
The scheme: Otegui’s “Nano Vent-Skin” is a self-repairing skin made up of micro wind turbines.
How it would work:

The structure’s outer skin absorbs sunlight through an organic photovoltaic skin and transfers it to a storage unit at the end of each panel.
Nano-scale turbines on the panel generate energy from chemical reactions. Turbines’ inner skin works as a
filter, absorbing CO 2.
Credibility rating: 6/10. We see plenty of uses, from lightstarved motorway tunnels to blades on giant wind turbines.

2 Biofuels factories at petrol stations
Visionary: Alan Leo Pleština, 40, of Croatian architectural firm UPI -2M
The scheme: His “Biooctanic” utility towers rise above petrol stations, growing biofuels and cleaning the air.
How it would work:

UPI -2M says its “crop production towers” will use algae and bamboo to grow biofuels for vehicles below. The towers save arable land, and cut transport costs for moving the fuel.
They also filter smog-filled city air.
Credibility rating: 8/10. The project was shortlisted as a finalist in last year’s World Architecture Festival in Barcelona.

3 A sandstone wall across Africa
Visionary: Londonand Stockholm-based architect Magnus Larsson, 33
The scheme: His “DUNE ” project would fight desertification by solidifying shifting desert sands into a 6,000km sandstone wall across the Sahara. The structure would be habitable.
How it would work:
Flushing bacillus pasteurii bacteria through loose sand causes a biological reaction, turning it into sandstone.
Already in use in earthquake zones.
Credibility rating: 6/10. Larsson is testing a 1:1-scale prototype. But the full 6,000km wall would cost billions.

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