Bahrain World Trade Center Generating Power

Three wind turbines integrated into the structure of the Bahrain World Trade Center are online, and are expected to produce up to 1300 MWh of clean electricity annually. The building is the first of its kind, generating up to 15 percent of its total energy usage. Each turbine is 95 feet across, suspended

between two 787 foot-high towers by bridges. When complete, the buildings on the windy Manama waterfront will feature 34 floors of office space, a five-star hotel, and a luxury shopping mall. The cost of the turbines was approximately 3.5 percent of total construction costs.

Architecture and engineering firm Atkins collaborated with the Danish turbine specialists at Norwin to make the concept operational. The project has won the 2006 LEAF Award for Best Use of Technology within a Large Scheme and Arab Construction World Magazine's Sustainable Design Award.

Shaun Killa, Chief Architect at Atkins and designer of the building, hopes the project will inspire other "designers and clients to incorporate renewables and energy efficient measures into future developments to reduce carbon emissions."

[via World Architecture News]