Designer Philippe Starck tarts up turbines

Let’s play a word association game (think Mallett’s Mallet but without the threat of violence from a berk with a rubber hammer). Cat (Greenbang imagines you’re thinking ‘cat’). Food (Greenbang guess you’re thinking ‘eat’). Greenbang says word (bet your response is ‘association’). And last one? Philippe Starck (Greenbang’s own response would be ‘overpriced design ponce’).

Luckily, Greenbang’s own opinions don’t count for much in the circles that Starck moves in. But Mr Starck, as Greenbang imagines his flunkies call him, has decided to ditch his usual design nonsense and put his talents towards the field of – wait for it – making designer wind turbines!

Oh yes, he told The Times that “it’s a really sexy object”. If you’re after a “really sexy” wind turbine Starck’s effort costs some £400 and could give a small house around 60 per cent of its energy, according to the paper.

If you want one, they’ll be on sale on Blighty’s shores in 2009. If you want to kit out your entire life with Starck-based greenery, the designer has also come up with a clean-energy powered car and boat, and a solar power film that can be applied to windows. Nice.