EverBlades
Repurposing Decommissioned Wind Turbine BladesProject Summary
Duration: 6 weeks
2022 Spring
Under guidance of Ayako Maruyama
Duration: 6 weeks
2022 Spring
Under guidance of Ayako Maruyama
By addressing the issue of the perpetual problem surrounding the lack of accessible public transportation in the US, I designed new bus shelters using decommissioned wind turbine blades. The Everblade Bus Shelters not only provides a more comfortable experience taking the bus in Rhode Island, but also repurposes unusable wind turbine blades that are currently filling up limited space in landfills.
Have you ever taken the bus?
Let me set the scene for you.
It’s been a long day and you’re carrying heavy bags of groceries or art supplies in an unfamiliar part of the city.
Finally, you find the tiny bus bus sign on a indistinguishable pole at a random point on the sidewalk.
You always have to double check your phone because there’s no name of the station on any sign...
There could be a blizzard, a heatwave, or be pouring cats and dogs!
Walkup Roslindale, Getty, Soundtransit
All the while, there’s no actual shelter at the bus stop...
So you are doomed to have the rain soak your socks as you jostle your umbrella and grocery bags.
You wait 10 minutes just for the bus to be too crowded for your bags causing you to wait another 20 minutes.
You are so frustrated that you end up calling an Uber and swear you will never take the bus again.
︎
How can we improve the comfort
and approachability towards public transit
to increase future funding?
Reworking the routes...?
Smoothing out bus reliability...?
Providing affordable and accessible infrastructure...
︎
That’s where
Everblade Bus Shelters
come in to play.
Not only would Everblade provide a more comfortable transit experience,
but also they would aid the large impending problem of unusable wind turbine blades.
Where do wind turbines blades end up?
Most of them go to the local landfill and a handful are
manufactured into materials such as cement or pellets for construction.
These materials need to be transported to factories, which increases pollution.
In addition, they are energy intensive to create and are
environmentally unsustainable items.
Research
Wind is America’s
Wind energy became the cheapest available form of renewable electricity available in 2019 and
avoided 319 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2021.
This is great! This is the right direction to our goal of being carbon-free!
However, as wind energy turbine blades grow in number and in efficiency, they are replaced and are filling up landfills.
Blades are not recyclable. They are stacked up in landfills, taking up space.
To increase durability, wind turbine blades are made of a fiberglass composite. This material is storm-resistant and improves performance and the efficiency of wind turbines. The problem with this composite is that it is not recyclable due to the manufacturing process of mixing toxic materials. Thus, they are not cut down into small parts because of the large cost in energy and utilities.
![]()
Wind is America’s
largest source of renewable energy.
Wind energy became the cheapest available form of renewable electricity available in 2019 and
avoided 319 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2021.
This is great! This is the right direction to our goal of being carbon-free!
However, as wind energy turbine blades grow in number and in efficiency, they are replaced and are filling up landfills.
Blades are not recyclable. They are stacked up in landfills, taking up space.
To increase durability, wind turbine blades are made of a fiberglass composite. This material is storm-resistant and improves performance and the efficiency of wind turbines. The problem with this composite is that it is not recyclable due to the manufacturing process of mixing toxic materials. Thus, they are not cut down into small parts because of the large cost in energy and utilities. 
Everblade Bus Shelters will be...
locally sourced,
Being locally sourced is the most environmentally friendly for it does not require transportation, meaning a decrease in fees and pollution.
Block Island, Rhode Island is the home of the largest
offshore wind farm in the United States.
offshore wind farm in the United States.
Fields Point on land owned by Johnson and Wales
In Rhode Island, Everblade Bus Shelters would first be placed in the rapidly developing area, the Jewlery District.
It will be a model location to start transforming decommissioned wind turbine blades into Everblades.
It will be a model location to start transforming decommissioned wind turbine blades into Everblades.
EverBlades will be...
efficient,
This design will only need a minimal number of extrusion cuts as well as utilizing the discarded “scraps” as another bus shelter.This method will be more energy-efficient and therefore, decreasing the needed cost for feasible manufacturing.
versatile,
smaller discarded “scraps” can fit into smaller sidewalks as well!
accessible,
Is this bus stop identifiable from a distance unlike the small bus signs that exist currently?How would people navigate through this shelter?
The handicapped, people with bicycles, the elderly in need of back support,
were some examples of various experiences I kept in mind during my process.
and lastly, Everblades will be friendly to the community.
Everblade bus shelters can serve the environment although its primary purpose in creating clean energy is over.
Users can appreciate the circular life of wind turbines as well with a small sign engraved into the bus stop:
Sourced from Decommissioned Wind Turbine Blades in Rhode Island.
My Process
Ideation and Iterations
Quick 15 minute sketch models and CAD modeling helped me bring these sketches into the physical world,
considering feasibility in the least number of machine cuts, efficiency in using all waste parts, and comfortability.
.
For bus stops to be more accessible and prevent wind turbine blades from overfilling landfills, Everblade Bus Shelters can help!
They can encourage people who do not use public transportation to feel more friendly towards buses while also allowing a pleasant experience waiting at the bus stop whether there be a blizzard, is sweltering, or pouring cats and dogs!
Thank you!
You might also like...
