Bending aluminum and steel sections to a given radius or diameter can contribute to “green” projects in many ways. For example, in Chicago a project for housing the homeless was going for LEED Certification. The design by internationally recognized architect, Helmut Jahn, called for wind turbines and solar panels that would generate 15% of the building’s power. A grey water recovery system was to collect and recycle runoff from sinks and showers.
So how do curved aluminum and steel contribute to this project?
The inventor of the small wind turbines to be placed on top of Jahn’s building came to Chicago Metal Rolled Products to provide the aluminum tube bending shown in this picture of the turbine with the architect.
Chicago Metal worked with the inventor to design and produce the parts for his prototype. Subsequently, the inventor began producing the curved parts himself on newly acquired equipment.
The building was situated on the site to maximize the wind flow to the turbines. And the building itself was designed in a “Twinkie” shape to further steer the wind to the turbines. Chicago Metal was again sought out—in this case by the structural steel fabricator–to provide the curved steel elements for the rounded corners where the walls meet the roof of the structure.
These are just small examples of how curved metal can contribute to “green” projects, but they illustrate what can and should be explored in future projects.
