Bee Hydration Project - Casey Culp and Keenan Hursh
Using data collected by our class, we mapped out the location of bees on campus to figure out where the highest concentration of bees are located. As bees are known to travel far distances to find potential food sources, we thought it would be a good idea to create an artistic bee hydration system. The map below would help decide where these hydration systems should bee (pun intended) implemented. Click the grey arrow in the left corner of the map for more information.
Location of Bees on DU Campus
Location of Bees on DU Campus
Bee Hydration as Sustainable ArtThe hydration system we created uses biomimicry to make an interesting art piece (atypical from existing bee hydration systems) that could be displayed in various locations throughout campus. By mimicking the abdomen of a bee, the hydration system would effectively serve as a reminder of the importance of bees to our ecosystem. Each of these stations would be constructed from recycled plastic and would use water from DU's irrigation system or simply through a jug underneath the station. Our design for the station is shown below. Our final project included a 3D print prototype for the hydration station.
Social Media Usage and Global HappinessThe map below displays the most popular form of social media in 40 select countries and the percentage of its population using it.
The percentage of the population using social media is displayed by the size of the icons. Specific information can be found by clicking on these icons. Countries of particular interest include Japan, China, Sierra Leone and Mali. Using internet and social media usage statistics from the countries, I found the percentage of people using both the internet and social media for each country. The map below compares this percentage with the world happiness ranking. Countries in the top half are marked with a happy face and countries in the bottom half are marked by sad face icons. The percentage of people both on the internet and using social media is shown by the size of the face icons. China and Finland are particularly interesting cases as Finland has low social media usage and ranks the highest in happiness while China has more social media users than internet users and ranks much lower in happiness.
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Arbesol (SOL) Cryptocurrency
Arbesol is a hypothetical cryptocurrency which plants trees and funds the creation of a solar/wind installation in deforested or affected natural areas. The installations and trees are placed in an interesting pattern to create a public art piece. Users are able to earn green energy credits from the solar installation which they funded.
Potential Designs
Potential Designs
Identity and Media Assets
We look to develop a website to exhibit our installations and explain the green energy credit system as well as an app to track energy credits and transactions.
How it works
Users buy and sell via Arbesol currency, a portion of every purchase will go towards the public installation. We will utilize blockchain for geolocation of whomever purchases Arbesol and find an existing installment or a new potential installation site near them.
Green Energy Offset Credits
Green Energy Credits are created by renewable energy plants and sold to municipal energy providers who can’t produce their own green energy. Arbesol Token-Holders will receive GECs based on how much SOL they own. These GECs can then be sold or traded or used to comply with any regulations or requirements by offsetting carbon footprints.
Local Impact: Denver and the Front Range
Arbesol will first launch on a local scale, partnering with a local solar company and a tree planting company to help with the installations. We identified multiple vacant Bureau of Land Management Superfund sites in and around Denver where our installations could potentially go. Each site will have different trees/plants depending on what kind of contamination is present at the site as certain trees/plants are capable of mitigating particular types of contamination.
Below are two maps showing potential installation sites for Arbesol in the Denver Metro area and comparing them with census population data (more people around = more visitors) and average household income (people with higher incomes are more likely to buy into a cryptocurrency).
Site Decision
With this data, we decided that the Denver Radium site (located bottom-left in the map above) would be the ideal location for our Denver installation. The site is near a number of high income areas (Washington Park, Cherry Creek), not too far from downtown and close to densely populated Lakewood and Washington Park neighborhoods.
3D Design Proposal
The two images below are our potential installation for the Denver Radium site (left) versus the current state of the Denver Radium site (right). This area is about 2.09 hectares and we would replace the current surface with xeriscaping and native Colorado plant species, below is just an artistic rendering. We thought it would be interesting to incorporate a shelter to make the area more of a park space to sit down and enjoy. The shelter would include both a wind and a solar installation once enough SOL is purchased.
With this data, we decided that the Denver Radium site (located bottom-left in the map above) would be the ideal location for our Denver installation. The site is near a number of high income areas (Washington Park, Cherry Creek), not too far from downtown and close to densely populated Lakewood and Washington Park neighborhoods.
3D Design Proposal
The two images below are our potential installation for the Denver Radium site (left) versus the current state of the Denver Radium site (right). This area is about 2.09 hectares and we would replace the current surface with xeriscaping and native Colorado plant species, below is just an artistic rendering. We thought it would be interesting to incorporate a shelter to make the area more of a park space to sit down and enjoy. The shelter would include both a wind and a solar installation once enough SOL is purchased.
Evans Parking Garage DU Solar Design - Casey Culp and Keenan Hursh
Top Level Design
This is a suggested design for solar panels on the top of Evans parking garage at the University of Denver. This design provides a nice aesthetic which would blend well with the campus' architecture while also serving multiple uses outside of energy generation including electric car charging ports and both shade and coverage from inclement weather for cars.
System Information
As shown above, the top level design would feature a fixed open rack with monocrystalline cells. The system would generate around 152.7 kWdc with an area of only 1017 m^2.
Garage - Southern Facing Side
Our design would also include a system on the south facing side of the garage. The areas we would add solar panels to are already dark metallic panels, therefore adding solar would not ruin the aesthetics of our campus' architecture.
This is a suggested design for solar panels on the top of Evans parking garage at the University of Denver. This design provides a nice aesthetic which would blend well with the campus' architecture while also serving multiple uses outside of energy generation including electric car charging ports and both shade and coverage from inclement weather for cars.
System Information
As shown above, the top level design would feature a fixed open rack with monocrystalline cells. The system would generate around 152.7 kWdc with an area of only 1017 m^2.
Garage - Southern Facing Side
Our design would also include a system on the south facing side of the garage. The areas we would add solar panels to are already dark metallic panels, therefore adding solar would not ruin the aesthetics of our campus' architecture.
System Information
This design would generate around 68.5 kWdc at an area of 457 m^2 and would also be a fixed open rack with monocrystalline cells. Along with this, these panels have the potential for artistic LED lighting displays at night as well as serving as an educational opportunity for students and visitors of the campus.
This design would generate around 68.5 kWdc at an area of 457 m^2 and would also be a fixed open rack with monocrystalline cells. Along with this, these panels have the potential for artistic LED lighting displays at night as well as serving as an educational opportunity for students and visitors of the campus.