Poetics of Alternative Energy Sympoium

As part of a symposium developed and organised by Holger Christian Lonze for the University of Ulster, twenty students developed ways to communicate messages with the aid of wind with the help of tutors Jonny Fyffe and Pete Hill.


Centred around issues of alternative energy and the Japanese ‘philosophy’ of wabi-sabi, the students dealt with limited resources, a harsh environment and communal living conditions for five days.

Workshop and research sessions were accompanied by talks, films and social evening activities in Holger's 20' yurt at the Kinramer Camping Barn.

Working in three small groups – as a traditional Irish work squad “meitheal” used to do – at different locations across the island, the students' task was to research, design and make objects which, in some way, used wind to convey messages across the island to the other groups.

As well as being functional the devices created also had to be poetic and beautiful in themselves, expressing the spirit of wabi-sabi.

The twenty students included ten students from archtecture and ten students from fine art, which added an interesting dynamic to the project given the different methods and approaches present.