Toyo Ito:Tower of Winds

Toyo Ito's Tower of Winds is mainly intended to express the relationship between architecture and city and nature, as well as the key role of science and technology in architecture. In his tower of wind, the tower we see during the day is wrapped in perforated aluminum sheets, and at night it converts the noise and wind of the city into light and change to be the power of lights for this tower. His architectural works mainly convert the energy in nature into the electricity needed by the city, thus highlighting the relationship between the building and the city. At night, even without natural light, the building can interact with the city.

According to the architect's design concept and style, in three small models, I tried various shapes, first of all, regular rectangular buildings and added windmills as wind energy. Second one is the tornado shape similar to elliptical buildings to express the form of wind and the role of natural energy in cities. For the third one, I think the windmill in the building may not be in line with the design of conventional buildings, windmill operation may also cause accidents. Finally, I decided to change the first one to solar panels to convert light source energy for night light, and change the shape to be triangle, because I think triangle is the most stable shape.

Reference list:

Elaine, K. 2006, ‘The lightness of being Ito; RIBA Gold Medal winner Toyo Ito is architecture's impossible dreamer who takes every project in a new direction. (Royal Institute of British Architects)’, Building Design, Issue 1709, p.8(1). 

Morimasa, W., Masamiki, O., Hisashi, O.,Yasuo, O., Hitomi, K., Shinji, I., Yasuhito, S., Kenji, Y., Kiyomine, Y. & Masao, T. 2002, ‘Comparison of wind pressure measurements on tower-like structure obtained from full-scale observation, wind tunnel test, and the CFD technology’ Journal of Wind Engineering & Industrial Aerodynamics,Vol.90(12), pp.1817-1829.