Weather Station Concept
This project won first place. The weather station concept was developed for the Denver Botanic Gardens in one of my earlier Industrial Design Studio Classes. Before I started to work on this project I tried to understand what my client is trying to get, and what are the things that they are missing.
The biggest problem with the current weather station is its location. It is disconnected from the science pyramid and lacks the critical educational experience for the visitors. |
Inspirations
One of my inspirations for this project was some geometric public sculptures and solar trees, but the biggest inspiration was the science pyramid building located at the botanic gardens property. The pyramid building was modern and exciting. It contained weather driver lights and learning screens, and I instantly realized that this building needs to be connected to the weather station by the function and the design language.
My goal was to create a sculptural companion to unite the Science Pyramid and the weather station via architectural style and common materials such as poured concrete and sheet metal. |
Goals
•Create a safe, maintenance-free structure
•Incorporate lockable, hidden enclosure into the design •Provide an educational experience for the visitors •Explain the purpose of this weather station at the gardens •To inspire kids and to show them the beauty of sustainable energy and to direct visitors to the Science Pyramid to learn more about the evapotranspiration. Safety and Operation •Vertical climb-proof structure w/ control box hidden inside
•All instruments at the 9’-10’ height •Sustainable energy / Self-contained structure •No external power needed •Maintenance user should be able to access the control box easily though the lockable access door •Download data at a level comfortable to user height •Maintenance is easy - quick battery replacement |
My first 1:6 scale white model was constructed from paper to show the client the general concept.
After some adjustments, I decided to change the shape a little bit to add a touch of organic lines.
1st generation SolidWorks model was created with a new geometry incorporated into it.
Later, the model was altered to extend the solar panel arm and the DXF package for laser cutter was generated based on the digital model.