City architect wins NYC contest

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This article was published 26/10/2012 (3808 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg architect beat out hundreds of designers from around the world with an idea to suspend 99 big red balloons over parts of an old New York City landfill.

Emeka Nnadi and his city team say they can harness methane for electricity with the gigantic bright red balloons, each capable of generating approximately 14,000 megawatts of electricity.

Altogether, that’s enough renewable energy to power 4,500 homes a year.

The Nadi Urban Design Studio idea was one of four winning designs selected for an award given Thursday night in New York.

“How do I feel?” Nnadi said, minutes before the event. “I’m insanely proud and a little bit shocked.”

He said his team, all graduates of the University of Manitoba, beat out some of the best Canadian architectural firms in the worldwide competition.

“We are the only Canadian player at this award. We beat out designers from Toronto and Vancouver,” he said.

The top four designs, including Nnadi’s “99 Red Balloons” were unveiled at a New York gallery and will travel in an exhibit from New York to Dubai.