Thursday 18 April 2019

What A Wonderful Concept,

using collected rainwater,


 in the seven-story waterfall that has become the shining focal point of Singapore’s Jewel Changi Airport,

 designed by Safdie Architects the 130-foot “Rain Vortex” is supplied by collected rainwater, and flows at the center of a greenhouse topped by an inverted glass dome,

 it and the surrounding area looks stunning,

 nearly 10,000 gallons of water are pumped through the circular installation per minute from a centralized oculus in the middle of the space, the overhead dome is composed of a gridded glass thick enough to absorb any noise created by the aircrafts taking off and landing, and was tested to ensure it wouldn’t give off any distracting reflections to nearby air traffic controllers,

 the new addition also includes five stories of shopping, a netted play area, and a terraced garden called the Shiseido Forest Valley that is dotted with smaller waterfalls accessed by trails,

 now I can appreciate that the design is being eco friendly by using collected rainwater,

 but think about this, the rainwater is being pump at a rate of say 10,000 gallons an hour, that according to this conversion table is roughly 45 metric tons, so here is a question I can not work out, how much electricity is used to lift 45 tons of water an hour to height of 130 feet? then multiply that by say a 12 hour day, and finally work out the cost using a nominal household electricity rate into £ or $, all I know is I am glad the final figure is not on our electricity bill!


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