Star of the South
The Star of the South was a joint project between Siemens AG and Munich-based multimedia artist Michael Pendry. To implement the light installation, the Fröttmaning wind power plant near Munich was covered with around 9,000 LEDs . It formed the largest rotating art object in the world and could be seen from the first Advent until the end of 2009.
Emergence
In autumn 2008, representatives from Siemens discussed the idea of creating a symbol with special charisma for green technologies and sustainability for the first time with the Munich multimedia artist Michael Pendry before the world climate summit in Copenhagen (December 7-18, 2009) and asked him to do a work create that can best implement these topics artistically and transport them into public perception. Due to its exposed location on the A9 motorway - a Munich main artery through which well over 150,000 drivers pass every day - the wind power plant in front of Munich's gates in Fröttmaning was very quickly the focus of attention for Michael Pendry and his team for an art installation of great significance, the Star of the South was born.
After the operators of the wind power plant, Stadtwerke München, had agreed to support, the focus was initially on the technical feasibility. Questions about aerodynamics , lighting technology and the adhesives that could be used had to be answered .
In late summer, the analysis of the effects of the installation on the rotor aerodynamics was completed using numerical simulations on the PC. Wind tunnel tests were then carried out at the Technical University of Berlin , which showed that the performance losses on the wind turbine due to the LED installation were only minimal. In addition, reports had to be obtained on the road safety of the nearby motorway, flight safety , noise levels and dazzling residents.
During the two-week construction phase, more than 30 technicians embedded almost 1,000 points of light, consisting of 9,000 LEDs , in streamlined adapters in order to minimize the performance losses of the system. At the same time, the rotor blades were cleaned so that the strength of the adapters could be maintained even in difficult autumnal weather conditions such as rain and snow, high humidity, as well as in plus and minus degrees. In order to supply the LEDs with electricity or to be able to generate various motifs, more than 400 meters of cable had to be laid through the hub of the wind turbine. Finally, the light animations for the lighting of the system were played.
Data
| Plant type | ENERCON E-66 |
| Construction year | 1999 |
| Total height of the wind turbine | Around 100 m, i.e. H. higher than the Munich town hall on Marienplatz |
| Speed of the wind turbine | 10-20 revolutions / minute |
| Length of rotor blades | Each over 30 meters, i.e. H. about as long as a subway car |
| Number of LEDs | A total of ~ 1,000 light points, each consisting of nine LEDs. That means ~ 3,000 LEDs per rotor blade evenly distributed over an area of 70 m² |
| All in all | ~ 9,000 LEDs |
| Installation cable length | Almost 400 meters in total - longer than the Eiffel Tower is high |
| Installation weight | Around 100 kilograms per leaf (cable ~ 30 kg, LEDs ~ 20 kg, fastening ~ 50 kg) |
| Wind turbine electricity yield | ~ 2,300,000 kilowatt hours per year. This corresponds to the average annual electricity consumption of 660 households. |
| Wingspan of the star | Almost 70 m (this is roughly the width of a soccer field) |
| Power consumption | Less than 4 kW. The electricity for this comes directly from the wind turbine, i.e. H. the installation is self-sufficient - emission-free. |
Use and dynamics of the LEDs
| Lighting effects | Programmed by real-time animation - visible and a. for the more than 150,000 daily commuters on the A9 motorway in front of Munich. |
| Light intensity | Up to max. 20,000 candela (steplessly dimmable), which corresponds to the light intensity of 20,000 Christmas candles. |
| Light & image change | The animations are adjusted in real time to the wind strength or rotation speed. |
| Light installation | Exclusively visible at Christmas until New Year's Eve 2009. |
| Colors of the light installation | Colors from the entire color spectrum were staged |
At least 15 different images were shown. However, they were only visible in long-term exposure photographs in which the rotor blades completely covered the surface of rotation at least once. H. 1/3 turn.
With some motifs there were motion or color animations. For example, the blazing flames could be seen in the fire vortex . The animation alternated between day and night in the representation of the globe ; Another motif showed a starry night sky , which gradually gave way to a sunrise over the course of the presentation .
The motifs changed every 30 minutes; presumably they were selected by random generator .
swell
- "Siemens makes the stars of the south shine" picture article from November 23, 2009
- Siemens press portal
