A Building Powered By Algae-Based Energy
公寓大樓 靠藻類供電 
By David Wallis

A new apartment complex in Hamburg, Germany, looks like a modern structure and has some of the latest technology in sustainable building – a vertical algae farm
德國漢堡一棟新的公寓大樓，不僅外觀像棟現代建築，還擁有永續建築的最新技術，一個垂直式藻類養殖場。

The designers of the $6.58 million Bio Intelligent Quotient (B.I.Q.) building, which relies entirely on renewable energy, promise that their pioneering energy system will harvest fast growing algae to create biofuel, produce heat, shade the building, abate street noise and make history.
這棟「生物智商」建築完全仰賴再生能源，斥資658萬美元興建。設計者打包票，他們的先驅能源系統定能取得成長快速的藻類，用以製造生質燃料，生產熱能，替建築遮陽，阻隔街頭噪音，以及創造歷史。

Mounted on the sides of the building are 129 bioreactors, flat glass panels on exterior louvers that serve as an environment for the algae to flourish. The system was built by a consortium that included the global architectural firm Colt Group.
安裝於建築側面的是129個生物反應器，也就是在百葉窗外作為藻類繁殖環境的玻璃面板。整套系統由一個財團監造，成員包括全球性的建築師事務所柯爾特集團。

In 2009, the consortium won a competition that asked entrants to use smart materials, or “systems and products that behave dynamically, unlike conventional building materials, which are static.
2009年，該財團贏得一項競賽，參賽者必須使用智慧建材，亦即「具動態表現的系統或產品，而非屬靜態的傳統建材」。

The algae are fed liquid nutrients and carbon dioxide to spur growth in the system that became operational in April. Pressurized air is pumped into the panels to further increase growth and prevent the micro-organisms from settling down and causing rot, said Jan Wurm, one of the designers. He notes that scrubbers in the panels automatically keep the glass clean. The panels double as solar thermal collectors to convert sunlight into usable energy.
這套系統四月開始運作，藻類以液態營養劑和二氧化碳培育以加快其成長。設計師之一烏爾姆說，將加壓空氣唧入面板可進一步加快藻類成長，避免微生物沉積與引起腐爛。他說，面板內的擦拭器會自動清潔玻璃。面板兼具太陽能收集功能，可將陽光轉換成可用能源。

“The part of the light which is not absorbed by the algae for the photosynthesis is converted into heat,” said Mr. Wurm, and can be used immediately for hot water or stored underground.
烏爾姆說：「無法被藻類吸收以行光合作用的陽光，會轉換成熱能。」這些熱能可立刻用來提供熱水，或儲存於地下。

Periodically, the algae will be collected and stockpiled in tanks in the building.
定期地，藻類也會被收集和儲存在大樓的儲存槽內。

A local energy company then will buy the harvest and transport the biomass to a nearby heat and power plant, where it will undergo fermentation. The process produces methane gas to generate electricity. “The generated power would be carbon-neutral,” Mr. Wurm said.
接著，當地一家能源公司會購買這些收成，並將這些生物質運到附近一個熱能與電力廠進行發酵。這一過程可產生甲烷氣以發電。烏爾姆說：「生產的電力屬於碳中和電力（編按：總排碳量為零）。」

The designers of the B.I.Q. house did not sacrifice form for function. The chlorophyll green color from the algae, combined with the bubble ballet from rising pressurized air, looks a little bit like a lava lamp, Mr. Wurm said.
這棟生物智商建築的設計師並沒有為了功能而犧牲外觀。烏爾姆說，藻類的葉綠素綠色，與上升的壓縮空氣的氣泡共舞時，看來有點像座熔岩燈。

Whether a building with algae bioreactors is the start of something big generates plenty of debate. Mr. Wurm acknowledges that the nascent technology costs more than solar or conventional fuel systems. “In terms of investment costs you can’t compare it to established, mass produced systems on the market,” he said.
藻類生物反應器建築是否真是一場大革命的開端，引來如潮辯論。烏爾姆坦承，這項尚未成熟的技術，成本較太陽能或傳統燃料系統高。他說：「就投資成本而言，你不能把它和市面上既有、量產的系統相比較。」

Jonathan B. Wimpenny of the Royal Institute of British Architects USA questions whether many banks and developers will invest in algae bioreactors. “I can hardly deem this as a water shed moment in everyday building practice,” Mr. Wimpenny said.
美國英國皇家建築師學會的溫潘尼認為，恐怕不會有許多銀行和開發商願意投資於藻類生物反應器。他說：「我很難將它視為日常建築實作上的一個分水嶺。」

Cost is also a potential obstacle. Scott Walzak, a designer at the global architectural firm HOK, estimates that the cost per kilowatt-hour produced by algae bioreactors would be seven times that of solar power and 14 times that of crude oil.
成本是潛在的障礙。全球性建築公司HOK的設計師華札克估計，就每度（千瓦小時）電的發電成本而言，藻類生物反應器是太陽能的7倍，原油的14倍。

Anica Landreneau, a consulting leader at HOK, envisioned tapping car exhausts from the Santa Ana Freeway in California as a carbon source to feed algae. “It thrives on a junk-food diet,” said Ms. Landreneau.
HOK的顧問領導人安妮卡‧藍德雷諾預見，人們可能收集加州聖塔安娜高速公路的汽車廢氣，做為餵養藻類的碳來源。她說：「垃圾食物讓藻類生長茂盛。」

Grow Energy, a start-up based in San Diego, California, is banking on just that for products that take different paths to generating energy from algae. The year-old company plans to produce two different algae bioreactors.
加州聖地牙哥新創公司「種植能源」決定賭上的產品，是藻類以其他途徑生產能源的商品。這家成立一年的公司計畫生產兩種不同的藻類生物反應器。

Next year, Grow Energy expects to accept pre-orders for its Verde system, which can be mounted on roofs, cultivates algae, automatically dries it and burns it in an on-site combustion generator to create electricity. The Verde system will cost about $12,000 and will produce roughly 35 percent of the electricity used by the average American home.
明年，「種植能源」準備接受該公司弗德系統的預訂單。它可安裝在屋頂上，培育藻類，自動乾燥，並在一個就地的燃燒式發電機內燃燒生電。弗德系統售價約1萬2000美元，約可生產美國一般家庭用電量的35%。

Like many proponents of sustainable energy, Tom Wiscombe, an architect, is encouraged by the Hamburg building.
和許多永續能源的支持者一樣，建築師威斯康比也因漢堡的這棟建築而大受鼓舞。

“In the history of architecture, trying to keep organisms and fungus and mold constantly out” of a building was paramount, he said. “Now, we’re actually trying to put it back in.”
他說：「在建築史上，設法把有機體、真菌、黴菌永久阻隔在建築外」一向是件大事，「現在，我們實際上是試著把它放回來。」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/business/energy-environment/german-building-uses-algae-for-heating-and-cooling.html

2013-06-18聯合報/G9版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS王麗娟譯 原文參見紐時週報七版右