Fab 40: Wind Power
March 5th 2009 was particularly windy day in Spain, allowing the country’s 18,000 wind turbines to spin out over 11,200 megawatts of energy; a record amount that covered 28 percent of the country’s energy needs at that precise time. And it won’t stop there. Spain’s wind power industry is one of its fastest growing: capacities doubled between 2003 and 2006 and will probably do so again by 2010. Spain is now the third largest in the world for installed wind power (behind the USA and Germany). The AEE (Spanish Wind Energy Association) claims that wind energy in Spain avoided the emission of 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses in 2008 alone.
Spain’s wind power revolution has come about through a happy marriage of government and power companies (who are obliged, by law, to purchase the power the turbines produce) and a hell of a lot of open space. In Galicia, the wet, windy and rural north-western region of Spain, swathes of unused land was expropriated from farmers for wind parks, a measure which incurred negligible resistance. On the whole, the visual impact of wind parks has had little debate here.
‘It’s to do with perception,’ says Sergio de Otto, spokesperson for the AEE. ‘Most people realise (though public awareness campaigns) that they are contributing in a positive way to climate change. They see them with different eyes.’
In Navarra, where renewable energies (with wind power at the lead) have the capacity to reach almost 70 percent of its inhabitants’ needs, Barcelona-based architects Emiliano López and Mónica Rivera were confronted with the presence of a wind park when drawing up the plans for Aire de Bardenas, their award-winning hotel nestled on the edge of the astounding Bardenas Reales desert. The turbines whirl away on the top of an escarpment close to the hotel’s minimalist bungalows, and are as much a feature of the vistas from the rooms as the surrounding landscape. ‘We didn’t want to make a ‘theme’ of the windmills nor ignore them,’ says Rivera. ‘We just accepted the terrain as it was, and adapted to the reality of the land.’
Established by Ignacio Fernandez Rodgriquez in 2003, Aspid Cars has brought the Supercar to Spain
Read the Article: Hotel Consolacion, Aragon
The Cubic rooms of Aragon's Hotel Consolacion perch high above Aragon
A high-design boutique hotel, Consolacion sits atop a rocky ravine in North East Spain
Espadrilles, the stylish Spanish footwear of choice
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Read the Article: Studio House Acoran II, by Gyp Arquitectos
Studio House Acoran II, by Gyp Arquitectos
Recycling centre by Hidalgo Hartmann architects
Read the Article: Hidalgo Hartmann
Recycling Centre, Barcelona by Hidalgo Hartmann
Hotel Ferrero, Valencia
Read the Article: Hotel Ferrero, Valencia
Villa Julia Playhouse, by Javier Mariscal
Read the Article: Villa Julia Playhouse, by Javier Mariscal
Read the Article: Ultzama Equestrian Centre, Navarre
Valdermorillo House, by Padilla Nicas
Read the Article: Valdermorillo House, by Padilla Nicas
Women's Institute Mostoles, by Nodo
Read the Article: Women's Institute Mostoles, by Nodo
One of the 2009 Pamplona Festival's high-colour posters
Read the Article: Pamplona Fiesta Posters
Muralla by Ricardo Bofill Architects
Read the Article: Ricardo Bofill Architect
Fabrica by Ricardo Bofill Architects
Read the Article: Ricardo Fumanal. Dior Couture, by Ricardo Fumanal
Simil Jesus by Ricardo Fumnal
Work for GIles Deacon by Ricardo Fumnal
Artwork for Mango by RIcardo Fumnal
The Lab Room Spa, Madrid
Read the Article: The Lab Room Spa, Madrid
Trestle table by Spanish designer, Tomas Alonso
Read the Article: Tomas alonso, Designer
Erotic publishing from Spanish creative, Luis Venegas
Read the Article: Luis Venegas, Publisher
Wind farms help keep things running at the Aire de Bardenas Hotel
Melina Keays is the entertaining director of Wallpaper*. She has been part of the brand since the magazine’s launch in 1996, and is responsible for entertaining content across the print and digital platforms, and for Wallpaper’s creative agency Bespoke. A native Londoner, Melina takes inspiration from the whole spectrum of art and design – including film, literature, and fashion. Her work for the brand involves curating content, writing, and creative direction – conceiving luxury interior landscapes with a focus on food, drinks, and entertaining in all its forms
-
Kim Jones to exit Fendi after four years
Fendi has announced that Kim Jones is leaving his role as artistic director of womenswear and couture at the Italian house, though will remain at Dior Men
By Jack Moss Published
-
‘Natural gold’ straw weaving by Hanny Newton wins the inaugural QEST Sanderson rising star award
'I have been passionate and driven to champion straw embroidery as an exquisite, sustainable “natural gold”’: rising star Hanny Newton on winning the inaugural award
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
‘If you’re a proper designer, you can design many different forms’: Jony Ive unpacks his modular LoveFrom, Moncler outerwear collection
Five years in the making, LoveFrom and Moncler’s shape-shifting jacket collection marks a new direction for Jony Ive. Speaking to Laura May Todd in Milan, he talks forging new paths and staying curious
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico
By Chadner Navarro Published
-
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland
By Daven Wu Last updated
-
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia
By Dimity Noble Last updated
-
KLoé Hotel — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
By Jennifer Choo Last updated
-
Casa Hoyos — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
By Daven Wu Last updated
-
Littlenap — Hangzhou, China
By Daven Wu Last updated
-
Casa Santa Teresa — Corsica, France
By Daven Wu Last updated
-
K5 — Tokyo, Japan
By Danielle Demetriou Last updated