Daylight Investigations

Star-Lamps in the Desert

Students

Romina Leiva

Teachers

Amaya Glaria,

Francisco Ibarra

School

Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María

Country

Chile

Star-Lamps in the Desert
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Project Description

Lamps-Stars in the Desert, is a project that is presented towards the great north of Chile on the roads that connect the cities of Antofagasta and Calama. It consists of a point of reference and rest, a station or whereabouts where mainly trucker travelers, bus drivers, operators and workers from these areas dedicated mainly to mining and energy production, can rest from the monotonous and extensive northern highways and from the inclement weather of the desert climate of the area, thus avoiding the high rate of traffic accidents that occur mainly as a result of fatigue and insomnia. The rescue capsules consist of modular, curved structures, configured based on orthogonal photovoltaic panels, which capture the intense energy of the desert sun during the day, transforming it at night into illuminated capsules on the roadside. The project is framed within the territorial context of the first solar thermal plant in Latin America, located in Cerro Mirador, in the sector of Santa Helena, 60 km from the city of Calama in one of the areas with the highest solar radiation in the world, specifically in the 5nte highway that connects chile to the capital, at the same latitude as the photovoltaic plant in cerro dominador, and that can be seen from the highway. In this way, the project capsule of life becomes a sustainable landmark, consolidating this territory and, in turn, a new landmark of public space on the roads.