Author(s): Anna Rosenblum, Christine Mondor, Elizabeth Monoian, Nico Azel & Robert Ferry
Renewable energy technologies are transforming our landscapes with distributed installations that have the potential to reshape the commons. HELIOStudio at Carnegie Mellon University speculated how solar technologies and the (re) emergence of distributed energy infrastructure will reshape the relationship between landscape, urban form, spatial practices, and organizational structures. What new rituals and practices might arise if the means of production and consumption were contained within a site, a neighborhood, or a city? HELIOStudio examined the urban structure of energy landscapes and the community structure of an energy commons to advance social, environmental, and economic justice. Grounded in urban theory and technical strictures, the studio engaged the nonprofit Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) and several other technical and community experts. The studio resulted in a replicable method for organizing energy landscapes, spatial proposals for an energy-informed commons, and implementation protocols that enable new organizational structures and shift the balance of power to communities and individuals. The paper will share three streams of HELIOstudio investigation: PERSONAL ENERGY, LOCAL ENERGY, and URBAN ENERGY. The human dimension of energy was analyzed in PERSONAL ENERGY, where lived experience and the invisible flows of energy technologies and policies were visualized. LOCAL ENERGY investigated how distributed solar technologies might inspire new urban practices and engagement with urban drosscapes, ranging from performative inventions to ritualized solar installations. Lastly, URBAN ENERGY’s design proposals and community engagement informed possibilities for industrial-scale production within the confines of the city and examined the technostructure of production and consumption. Together, the findings have informed designers, policymakers, and planners on the potential of new energy landscapes.
Volume Editors
ISBN
978-1-944214-41-8