Public Art Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
The Public Art Electric Vehicle Charging Stations are a series of proposals that merge art, architecture, and technology. Normally, public arts primary function is to give the public something interesting to look at and/or to interact with it in some minor way. This series of functional public art presents five projects that give the public something interesting to look at and interact with, while they are charging their electric vehicles.
The hope is that this merging of public art with the charging function will help to inspire more people to become aware of, and interested in transferring from gas powered vehicles to electric powered vehicles.
The five public art charging stations are named, the Silver Solar Charging Station, the Black Waves Solar Charging Station, the Red Solar Charging Station, the Yellow Solar Charging Station, and the Solar Wind Charging Station.
The Silver Solar Charging Station consists of a corrugated steel structure part of which has been formed into a large vertical section that supports a large photovoltaic panel. The photovoltaic panel converts sunlight into electricity that is used to charge the electric vehicles directly and/or indirectly through a series of batteries. The connections needed to charge the electric vehicles are located inside of the structure that people can drive into out of the weather, while their vehicle is being charged.
The Black Waves Solar Charging Station is also made of steel with a series of curved wave shaped photovoltaic panels mounted on top. People can also drive their electric vehicles inside out of the weather to access the connections needed for charging. The painted steel Red Solar Charging Station with a bank of photovoltaic cells mounted on top functions the same way as the other stations.
The Yellow Solar Charging Station also functions the same way as the other stations but it is made of an eco friendly concrete composite material that forms the yellow dome. The photovoltaic panels in this case are made into a series of circular disc shaped elements that are mounted all around the top of the dome.
The Solar Wind Charging Station is not designed to be entered; instead people can drive along side of the station to charge their vehicles. It is also made of steel with a large curved shaped photovoltaic panel mounted onto the overhang. In addition to the solar panel, it also has a large vertical axis wind turbine incorporated into the design. Both the solar panel and the wind turbine make electricity from the sun and from the wind to charge the electric vehicles directly, and/or with batteries they continually charged.
Status: Unbuilt
