Melbourne's decommissioned Observation Wheel re-imagined as energy-making windmill
By Darren Murph 
posted February 27th 2010 4:01PM
posted February 27th 2010 4:01PM
posted February 27th 2010 4:01PM
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how fast would it go on a windy day? :D
@Scouse Pricey : It wouldn't go - on any day. There isn't enough sail area there to move the mass of steel in this wheel, the sails haven't been designed to catch wind, and the whole structure can't turn to face the wind as real wind generators do. It's as imaginary and make-believe as the flying trams in the concept.
It's still a nice-looking picture. But it isn't any kind of an actual working concept, so don't start lobbying Melbourne City Council for this to actually be considered. :)
@leonardlow
Who cares? It looks awesome.
don't listen to leonardlow as he does not know how fast it might go on a windy day
I personally have no doubt that it would in fact go and on a really windy day it just might require some sort of governor
here are some older windmill sail designs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windmill_sail
@leonardlow
yea sorry buddy but there are a lot of old windmills that didn't move to face the wind like modern ones do. they seemed to work just fine.
@Kyle Krcmaric
Exactly but it makes me want ffxiii to come even faster :(.
@Scouse Pricey
1g acceleration to the ground, until terminal velocity.
If they have decommisioned it for being unsafe to ride, eg. not sturdy enough to hold together without extra wind load, how long do you think it will stay up if they add sails for extra windload to gather energy.
looks like a scenery from mad max
I love re-use. Efficient, even patchwork urban design can be beautiful if it's got the right ideals at heart.
@Ethan It wouldn't work. It can't catch enough wind to even turn itself, let alone generate any kind of power.
@leonardlow
Stop crushing the imaginations of our youth. It's people like you that hinder thinking outside of the box to solve problems.
@leonardlow Yeah, the boat-sails, while not the most fanciful thing in the photo, are the main thing making me think the designer hasn't run the numbers. Couldn't they strip most of the weight off though?
Regardless, install those Flamingos!
@Kyle Krcmaric
Yea, screw science and logic - always getting in the way of doing stuff!
don't listen to leonardlow as he does not know, this much is certain
sails most definitely work just as they have for millenniums at sea, and on land, for example, see Jib sails: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windmill_sail
That would be an eyesore is actually done
I don't know if i would call it an icon...it was open for about a month before the heat got to it. And as deralict as Docklands is, it isn't THAT bad.
@zodl
G'day fellow Melbournian! And yeah I agree...
if they built it exactly to that picture, that would be beyond awesome, it would be ...amazing? awe-inspiring?
Hold on. They wouldn't pay to fix the "damages that were apparently too severe to bother fixing"
But apparently spending hundreds of thousands of dollars converting it into a power-source is fine.
@WalnutSoap The author of this article seems to have pulled that out of his nostrils. The manufacturer has to repair the thing under warranty.
What they're forgetting here is that the wheel is coming back. The whole problem related to the Engineering company in Japan that designed the wheel and it was not up to Australian standards. It's been ripped apart (foundation only standing - can see it from my window as I type this). The wheel is being re-built from scratch and the old metal going to scrap. The stupid thing is that Costco right next to it is bringing in more business than the stupid wheel did. We had Rialto Observation Deck (level 53) and that's now closed to become a restaurant. The Eureka SkyDeck is some 80 odd floors and looks back over a far nicer view. The Southern Star wheel was/is a waste of time. Even when it was open, it was still desperately struggling (and as for Harbour Town Outlets there, no one goes there either). The Docklands still is sadly a white elephant (go down to the water front on a weeknight - it's dead!)
Neat concept. But I'm distracted by the raptor like flamingos, just look at those things man! They're huge!
People are so, so so, so so so stupid.
I was looking forward to having a go on the Southern Star next month during the Grand Prix... it wasn't going the last two times I was there either. Bugger!!
Jesus... something out of Silent Hill 3 at the amusement park...
One of my ancestors invented the wheel.
Those flying trams look like the're burning the atmosphere up...
The wheel is supposedly being repaired/rebuilt offsite right now. It was taken down quite a while ago and only the support struts are still there.
http://www.thesouthernstar.com.au/mediarelease.aspx?id=19
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Southern_Star_(observation_wheel)
@Vaio i dont aggree. looks like something someone would have nightmares about. creepy to say the least.
Would have helped if the engineers knew that metal expands when it heats up in the first place
don't quite understand why melbourne did this in the first place, there isnt that much to look at, a big ferris wheel would do well at the barangaroo development in sydney, but paul keating wouldnt let that happen, too busy being payed to endorse stupid designs.
Thats weird, I live in Melbourne and it has been more than decommissioned, its been totally pulled down, so...
These observation wheels are the Monorails of the 21st century, seems like every city is rushing to build one, and in ten years time they will be unused eyesores.
The Melbourne in Australia by the way. The engadget article seems to miss out on that bit. #journalism #fail