Architecture, urban planning and research in, on and next to water
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Parthenon Seawall Concept – The Under Energy Harvester

By Sarang Sheth
Yanko Design
Nexpected
2019.March.12

Neither have we discovered Atlantis nor has the Parthenon sunk yet! This is the Parthenon Seawall, a structure designed by Waterstudio led by Netherlands based Architect Koen Olthius, inspired by classical Greek architecture.

Designed to resemble the iconic temple of Athena, the Parthenon Seawall was created to harness tidal energy, turning water current into usable current (get it?)! It employs the familiar stacked pyramid structure with each pyramid being made to house three turbines (that rotate in alternate directions). The flow of water turns the turbines, and the energy generated is stored in its upper concrete platform.

It’s alternate rotating pattern also helps it do something rather important. The Parthenon Seawall can also break currents, preventing large waves and tides from damaging coastlines. The alternate rotations disrupt the water flow, becoming a protective barrier against damage caused to vulnerable coastlines, harbors, or riverbanks.

 

The Parthenon Seawall can be placed along coastlines to not only protect them but also harness energy in the process. Its upper surface can be used as a riverfront too, creating a space for greenery, and even human recreation! Ticks all the boxes, doesn’t it?!

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Breaking the waves, ancient Greek-style

By Neos Kosmos
March.16.2018
photo Credits Waterstudio

 

Dutch-designed floating breakwater which doubles as an energy generator is modeled after the Parthenon

 

The Parthenon Seawall is a new suggestion for a floating breakwater which would protect harbours and coastlines from tidal force, turning it into electrical power.

In ancient Greek mythology, Olympian god Poseidon used his trident to master the sea; thousands of years later, the need to master the sea remains as pressing as ever and it is of little wonder that those facing the task looked to ancient Greece for inspiration. This is true of the innovative Netherlands-based architecture firm ‘Waterstudio’ led by Architect Koen Olthius and specialising in floating urban structures. The studio’s mission statement is “developing solutions to the problems posed by urbanization and climate change” and its latest creation, the Parthenon Seawall, is a floating breakwater that doubles as an energy generator, promises to do exactly that.

Waterstudio used New Yorks Hudson River to illustrate the Parthenon Seawall’s function.

As its name suggests, the Parthenon Seawall was designed to resemble the iconic temple of Athena, but despite its ancient esthetics, the structure’s columns have more to do with functionality and addressing specific needs in a modern-day urban setting. While normally breakwater structures are designed to disrupt waterflow and reduce the impact of waves, tides and currents, protecting coastlines, harbors and riverbeds from potential damage, the Parthenon Seawall goes a step – or more – further than just fighting the force of water – it lives with it and turns it into electrical power. The floating breakwater stems the crash of water pushing into a harbor, while at the same time harvesting the tremendous energy a wall of water like that can generate.

The Parthenon Seawall employs the “stacked pyramid” structure – the columns are comprised of cylinders that rotate – both clockwise and counter clockwise – at low speed, moving by the flow of water. The upper concrete platform is where the energy is stored, but Waterstudio designers suggest it can also be used as a riverfront, creating a space for greenery and recreation. Poseidon would be proud.

 

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Parthenon, The Floating Sea Wall

Inhabitat, Tafline Laylin, December 2015

Certain world leaders might be dragging their feet on addressing climate change, but in the meantime, Koen Olthuis and the rest of the Waterstudio crew are working on solutions that we can use today. The Blue energy floating sea wall is a floating breakwater that doubles as an energy generator. Called The Parthenon, the floating breakwater not only stems the crash of water pushing into a harbor, but harvests the tremendous energy a wall of water like that can generate.

Waterstudio used the Hudson River to illustrate their new design’s function. “In a harbour on the Hudson river in New York the wave conditions are so strong that a sea wall must protect its boats. The strong current in the river is constantly attacking it and water is pushing itself against and through the fixed wall, which results in more corrosion of the sea wall every year.”

The floating sea wall acts as a permeable breakwater that converts the wave power into electrical energy while reducing the waves’ impact on the harbor at the same time. “The floating breakwater lives with the force of the river instead of fighting it,” they told Inhabitat in an email.

Related: Aquatect Koen Olthuis tells Inhabitat how to embrace rising sea levels

The columns of the sea wall are comprised of 3-foot cylinders that rotate – both clockwise and counter clockwise – at low speed. The energy created by this rotation is then captured in a concrete box inside the floating platform. The cylinders are filled with water to give the structure flexibility without affecting in any way the efficacy of the wall in reducing the wave’s impact on the harbor. The whole thing is then anchored to the riverbed, and the top can double as an urban green space or boulevard.

“The Parthenon blue energy sea wall resembles the column structure of the famous ancient temple in Greece,” according to Waterstudio, “but divers see it as a part of the sunken city of Atlantis.”

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Waterstudio’s floating sea wall harvests blue energy from crashing water

By Tafline Laylin
Inhabitat
December.2015

 

Certain world leaders might be dragging their feet on addressing climate change, but in the meantime, Koen Olthuis and the rest of the Waterstudio crew are working on solutions that we can use today. The Blue energy floating sea wall is a floating breakwater that doubles as an energy generator. Called The Parthenon, the floating breakwater not only stems the crash of water pushing into a harbor, but harvests the tremendous energy a wall of water like that can generate.

Waterstudio used the Hudson River to illustrate their new design’s function. “In a harbour on the Hudson river in New York the wave conditions are so strong that a sea wall must protect its boats. The strong current in the river is constantly attacking it and water is pushing itself against and through the fixed wall, which results in more corrosion of the sea wall every year.”

The floating sea wall acts as a permeable breakwater that converts the wave power into electrical energy while reducing the waves’ impact on the harbor at the same time. “The floating breakwater lives with the force of the river instead of fighting it,” they told Inhabitat in an email.

Related: Aquatect Koen Olthuis tells Inhabitat how to embrace rising sea levels

The columns of the sea wall are comprised of 3-foot cylinders that rotate – both clockwise and counter clockwise – at low speed. The energy created by this rotation is then captured in a concrete box inside the floating platform. The cylinders are filled with water to give the structure flexibility without affecting in any way the efficacy of the wall in reducing the wave’s impact on the harbor. The whole thing is then anchored to the riverbed, and the top can double as an urban green space or boulevard.

“The Parthenon blue energy sea wall resembles the column structure of the famous ancient temple in Greece,” according to Waterstudio, “but divers see it as a part of the sunken city of Atlantis.”

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Nederlandse architect ontwerpt duurzame golfbreker

By Duurzaamheidsleven.nl
December.22.2015

 

Architect Koen Olthuis van architectenbureau Waterstudio heeft een duurzame golfbreker voor een haven aan de Hudson rivier in New York ontworpen. De dijk beschermt niet alleen de boten, maar genereert ook energie.

Golfbreker De Panthenon is ontworpen voor een haven aan de Hudson rivier waar de golven sterk zijn. Het design geeft de golfbreker een dubbelfunctie: door het water niet tegen te houden zoals een gewone golfbreker, maar het water door de muur te laten stromen ontstaat er de mogelijkheid om energie op te wekken. De opgewekte energie wordt opgeslagen in een betonnen box achter de pilaren.

De Panthenon is niet de eerste golfbreker die een dubbelfunctie heeft. Bij Denemarken is een hybride windmolen geplaatst door de Duitste start-up Nemos. Deze windmolen gebruikt naast wind ook golven om energie op te wekken. Dankzij drijvers die aan de windmolen verbonden zijn, kan er extra energie opgewekt worden.

Veel technieken die de stroming van het water gebruiken, liggen deels boven water. Net als de Panthenon ligt bij New Wave Technology, eveneens ontworpen door Teamwork Technology, het systeem volledig onderwater. De stroming van het water zorgt ervoor dat de drijvers onderwater energie genereren. Een eerdere versie van de New Wave Technology werd tot 2008 door het Nederlandse bedrijf Teamwork Technology getest in Portugal.

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Floating Sea Wall Makes Energy from Rivers

By Samantha Joe
The Green Optimistic
December.10.2015

 

Waterstudio, led by Koen Olthuis, is a Dutch firm that explores solutions in urban planning and research as it relates to water. One of their concepts is a floating sea wall, named The Parthenon.

The Parthenon serves multiple purposes: it slows water as it pushes into a harbor, and harvests the energy that water generates.

The concept of the floating sea wall was illustrated using the Hudson River in New York, a 315-mile long river that runs through the eastern part of the state. With 39 percent

of the American population living on the shorelines of the country, harnessing water as an energy supply would be a strategic move.

In a harbor like one in the Hudson River, the waves are so strong that a sea wall protects the boats inside of it. The strong current continuously pushes water against and through this fixed wall, resulting in more and more damage of the wall.

With a floating sea wall like the one made by Waterstudio, not only with the wall work with the force of the current, it will use the water’s movement to generate electricity. Made up of many columns, they rotate at a low speed to create energy.

The cylinders are filled with water to ensure that there is a certain amount of flexibility in the structure without reducing the effectiveness in protecting the harbor. This energy is then contained in a box inside the floating platform. The entire structure is anchored to the riverbed, while the top can be utilized in different ways, such as a boulevard, a harbor extension, or for green space.

 

Click here for the source website

Click here to view the article in pdf

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