A Melbourne icon was shut down recently due to damages that were apparently too severe to bother fixing, but thankfully for the otherwise stunning Southern Star Observation Wheel, a few good men and women have their gears going about what to do next. Designer Büro North, who also dreamed up the VEIL Solar Shades, has a most splendorous idea of how to turn a broken ride into something that actually benefits local citizens. Obviously everything's still a pipe dream for now, but said dream involves strapping solar sails onto the sides and creating a wind-driven energy generation machine that pulls juice from two renewable sources. And let's be honest, you'd totally ride this -- risks be darned.

Melbourne's decommissioned Observation Wheel re-imagined as energy-making windmill originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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