External Brain

Southwest Windpower, maker of the Skystream 3.7, unveiled a new version of the popular turbine at CES 2011 called Skystream 600.  The turbine features an improved design with larger blades, enhanced software, and an improved integrated inverter.  And, according to a press release, Skystream 600 will be the “first fully smart grid-enabled wind turbine” on the market when available in April 2011.

With the improvements, Skystream 600 is estimated to produce about 74% more energy than Skystream 3.7.  The small wind turbine can provide an average of 7,400 kWh of energy per year in 12 mph average annual wind speeds — via Jetson Green

Students at Smith College—the largest liberal arts institution for women in the country—are assigned to houses, many of them Victorian-era structures complete with living rooms. Meant to foster a collegial environment, while successful, they also create isolated communities. Broadening the opportunity for social interaction, the Smith College Campus Center serves as a mediating body, the only building at Smith available to all students, faculty, and staff — via ArchDaily

Located in the inner-City, issues of privacy, occupation, served/servant spaces, affordability and available sunlight defined the context for design. Competing goals of maximizing square footage versus creating exterior amenity spaces, under the legislative constraints imposed by by-laws, created an opportunity for a kind of case study — via ArchDaily