Windover’s team had the pleasure of participating in Ocean Hackathon 2021 – a 48-hour challenge aimed at addressing the ocean’s greatest challenges by enhancing the value of maritime data and preserve the environment through innovation – alongside participating experts from NASA, Google X and Stanford. Windover’s team participated in the San Francisco edition of Ocean Hackathon, which also took place simultaneously in 15 other cities around the world and was organized by the Office for Science and Technology of the French Embassy in conjunction with the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference. The event has been endorsed as a Decade Activity by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
The challenge brought a community of experts together, including those from Google X, NASA, and Stanford. Windover’s team was led by Vice President of VDC & Technology, Amr Raafat, and included Charlie Romano, Manager of MEP Services, and Nicole Collucci, VDC Specialist. Representing the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering (AEC) industry, Windover’s team developed the design for a prefabricated coastal structure that harnesses the power of the ocean to provide all the energy required for the building and program, as well as extra energy for the coastal community. The design supports clean ocean water as well marine wildlife conservation. To develop this solution, the team utilized Windover’s leading-edge capabilities like lidar, drone mapping, sustainable MEP design, BIM, and prefabrication.
A Living Building: Windover’s Prefababricated Sustainable Design for the Ocean Hackathon Competition
Windover’s team identified the challenge of and developed an innovative solution to the rising sea levels and the impact on coastal communities. Despite the rising sea levels, around 40% of the world’s population lives within 60 miles of the coast. With the inevitability of continued coastal development, construction – an industry that accounts for 38% of all energy-related CO2 emissions – needs to provide innovative and adaptive sustainable solutions.
The Windover team utilized prefabricated construction – an advanced method that reduces the carbon footprint while providing adaptable, agile structures – to support coastal communities’ growth with minimal impact on the ocean and marine life. Given the flexibility of prefabricated construction methods, the team’s concept for the Ocean Hackathon challenge could be transformed onsite to harmoniously fit in and adapt to any environmental and topographic site conditions.
Windover was excited to join some of the most innovative institutions and companies and proud to represent the AEC industry at Ocean Hackathon 2021 to demonstrate the impact the AEC industry can have on saving the environment by utilizing today’s technologies with tomorrow’s vision.
Lidar Scan of the Project Site for Windover’s Prefabricated “Living Building” Sustainable Design