a thesis exploring the integration of wind turbines in Lake Charles, LA
As fossil fuel production is replaced by renewable energies, the American landscape is destined to change alongside the economy of the country and small towns alike. This thesis is an exploration of the spatial and perspectival experience of wind turbines as they are integrated in the public realm of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
In the twenty-first century, the earth has reached a new peak of human population, land use, and carbon emissions. Global climate change threatens us and our planet’s existence as we know it. The lack of sustainable systems in place is blatantly apparent, specifically concerning energy production, where architecture has a major impact. Architecture, through material extraction, transportation, construction, and ultimately building usage, is one of the most major contributors to energy consumption globally. In the US, building operations consume nearly 50% of energy production.
There is an opportunity to reimagine and intervene in the urban landscape, in order to cultivate a productive, renewable urbanism which produces as much energy as it consumes.
This thesis is explored in Lake Charles, Louisiana, a city in need of reconstruction efforts and a reimagining of the built landscape following devastating natural disasters in 2020. Louisiana itself is a petrochemical landscape, its rivers acting as veins along which industry has historically been rooted. Gas, coal, and basic chemical extraction and production has shaped the physical landscape with its refineries and power plants, letting harmful toxins escape into the environment. Energy production comes with a steep price which the planet and all its inhabitants pay.
Renewables eagerly await deployment across the American landscape, as fossil fuels will soon become obsolete. Lake Charles is an example small coastal city whose economy is rooted in a vanishing industry, primarily quarrying and mining, and oil and gas extraction, with the gasoline industry alone generating $81.6 billion annually. The city’s economy must shift if it hopes to move into a more sustainable future.
I am proposing the replacement of the fossil fuel industry with off and onshore wind turbines. Louisiana is currently ranked as the third highest state with the greatest potential for offshore wind energy production, and as nearly 80 percent of the nation’s electricity demand occurs in coastal and great lakes area, the country at large is poised for offshore wind production. This aligns well with the US aim announced on March 29, 2021 to power 20 million homes with offshore wind by 2023. With construction of offshore turbines beginning on an unprecedented scale for the country, soon onshore turbines will become more typical as well.
Despite the numerous benefits of renewable energy, there remains a population who maintain a negative perception, either for aesthetic or financial reasons. “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) is a movement of small town residents who oppose wind turbines. Architects are timely in position to help guide public perception of aesthetics, as the country and smaller cities like Lake Charles’ economies will begin to shift away from fossil fuel production . Economically, thousands of new jobs will be created by switching over to renewable and
clean energy sources, all while improving the environment. This proposal is a critical look at of the role the architect in shaping a positive public perception of renewables, specifically wind turbines, by integrating them into the built environment. Issues of scale, spatial, and perspectival experience are explored in this thesis.
clean energy sources, all while improving the environment. This proposal is a critical look at of the role the architect in shaping a positive public perception of renewables, specifically wind turbines, by integrating them into the built environment. Issues of scale, spatial, and perspectival experience are explored in this thesis.
concept diagram - scalar investigations of the wind turbine, reimagining urban integrations
plan showing the site in the greater context of the city of Lake Charles
site layers
site plan
