Cyclebowl

Around 40 Helios fans created the largest artificial tornado in the world in the Cyclebowl Expo pavilion

The Cyclebowl was an extraordinary pavilion at the Expo 2000 in Hanover , in which an artificial tornado was created.

background

The Dual System Deutschland participated in the pavilion as a global partner . The Stuttgart architect and scenographer Uwe R. Brückner was responsible for the Cyclebowl, who pursued the goal of “making the principle of the circular economy comprehensible in the truest sense of the word” throughout the conception . The consequence was evident both in the external shape of the building and in its interior. In the round, bowl-shaped cycle bowl, visitors wandered through the spiral exhibition like an "opera in three acts". This impressively conveyed the past, present and future of the resource-saving circular economy and emphasized the experience value of a staging that appeals to all the senses.

The idea for the 22-meter-high whirlwind came from the American artist Ned Kahn, who has been working with fluid movements, gas clouds and other natural phenomena for years. Among other things, he was responsible for the special effects of the tornado in the film Twister .

description

The highlight and conclusion of the 45-minute tour of the exhibition was an hourly staged tornado; a world first in its type and size. For this purpose, a main fan with a diameter of 2.8 meters was suspended in the roof of the building at a height of 25 meters. This started when the inside of the cycle bowl was darkened and the tornado show began. At the same time, around 40 more fans started up, which were installed over the entire height of the building to the side of the spiral staircase. In order for the tornado to be visible, fine water vapor first rose from the ground. This was sucked in by the main fan in the roof, which generated the vertical suction of the tornado. The tangential air flow from the side fans supported the formation of a rotating volume of air and contributed to the development of the wind column characteristic of tornadoes. The fans were manufactured by the company Helios Ventilatoren.

Web links

• Photos of the tornado

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Artificial tornado in the pavilion of the dual system at Expo 2000 . Helios fans website. Retrieved May 15, 2012.