Tree Turbine Video

opening night

The opening Saturday night was awesome! There was a huge turn out of New Haven folks, it was great to see you all, thanks for your support!

Badlands Installation views

The Tree Turbine project is part of an exhibition called Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape curated by Denise Markonish. The Tree Turbine could not have been possible without her amazing support and vision. Here are a few shots of the other work I have included in the exhibition.

Prototype #1

Here are some images of the completed Tree Turbine Prototype #1. The upper branch section spins independently from the bottom trunk. Inside the trunk is a small generator that produces electricity as the branches spin. The power is used to charge a bank of batteries that is located inside the fake rock. The batteries then power several LED landscape lights that illuminate the Tree Turbine and a few surrounding birch trees.

Last Details

Saturday morning I finished painting the last bit of the trunk. It will be wet for the opening, but it's not the first time I've completed a project within minutes of the opening!

Installation Day

Thursday was an exciting day! A crew came in the morning with a huge drill and blasted a 6 foot deep hole for the trunk. Bill and his crew also assembled the branches to the upper trunk. Later during periods of rain we hoisted the upper section of the tree and set it into place.

Green Machine

The paint came out beautifully thanks to Bill Greenwald and his crew. Richard will have a green shop for a little while!