The Sun Tower is a design proposal for a large structure to be used as a community center. The structure incorporates a solar concentrating collector and rainwater collector into its design. The SunTower would be made of a special composite concrete material.

The concept for the Sun Tower was inspired by some of the solar concentrating collector design and engineering done by the Pasadena California based Energy Innovations Corporation, www.energyinnovations.com. Adjustable mirrors at the top of the tower focus sun light onto highly efficient photovoltaic cells. The sun light is converted into electrical energy by the photovoltaic cells. This electrical energy could then be stored in the structure for later use, and/or it could be sent out into the

surrounding community. Rainwater would also be collected at the base of the Sun Tower and stored in a reservoir under the structure. This water could also be used at the site and/or distributed wherever it is needed in the local community.

The Sun Tower is one of a number of designs that I have developed which would provide special kinds of public gathering places that also gather (and in some cases store) alternative energy from the sun and/or from the wind for the communities in which they are built. In addition to the physical functionality

of these structures, I envision these designs becoming symbols for a new age of architecture in which buildings not only produce their own energy, but also generate additional energy for others. I also see that these structures can be very helpful to introduce the whole idea of alternative energy production to

the general public in an exciting and fun way.