Would you live in a wind turbine? They’re being turned into 376-square-foot homes
A design team has reimagined how retired wind turbines can become tiny homes, with plumbing, power and style.
When Dutch architect Jos de Krieger calls a decommissioned turbine nacelle “the most complex thing you can possibly upcycle,” he isn’t exaggerating. Imagine taking the engine room of a 20-year-old, 230-foot-high wind turbine and asking, “could this be my living room?”
That’s exactly what his company Blade-Made has done, as CNN reported. The result is Nestle – no, it isn’t covered in chocolate – a compact 376-square-foot home made entirely from the nacelle of a V80 2MW turbine that once generated power for northern Europe. From the outside, it looks like an elongated cream-colored pod, complete with solar panels and a skylight. Inside, you’d hardly guess its past: glass doors at either end, fully functional plumbing and electricity, and a light, open interior that, crucially, passes Dutch building code.
Why turn a wind turbine into a home?
Creating this complex solution is less about novelty and more about waste. The wind industry is booming worldwide, generating nearly 1,000 gigawatts of power in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. But each turbine lasts only 20–25 years, leaving behind blades and nacelles that are notoriously hard to recycle.
Around 90% of a turbine’s mass can be recycled, but blades and nacelles, made of fiberglass and resin, usually can’t. In the U.S., the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates turbine blade waste could top 2.2 million tons by 2050. As de Krieger put it to CNN, “everything you see around you has an end of life. We need solutions besides waste or landfill.”
Other ambitious recycling-inspired designs
Given the ingenuity of Nestle, you may be wondering what other stand‑out examples are out there pushing upcycling into unexpected territory. I had a look around and found these:
Denmark’s bike shelters and pedestrian bridges
Danish designers have repurposed old turbine blades into sleek bike shelters, offering functional urban infrastructure that reuses waste materials instead of sending them to landfill. Meanwhile, the Re‑Wind Network has built pedestrian and cyclist bridges in Ireland and Northern Ireland, using blade segments as structural supports. One such bridge supported over 80,000 lbs, far exceeding expectations.
Sweden’s turbine-blade façade on a parking structure
In Lund, Sweden, architects designed a multi–story eco‑friendly parking garage that uses blade segments as part of its exposed façade. The blades replace materials like steel or concrete, reducing the environmental footprint while making a bold visual statement.
Ireland’s blades repurposed into public facilities
BladeBridge, an Ireland‑based company, turned discarded turbine blades into pedestrian bridges, playgrounds, bike racks, and park benches. It’s a pragmatic approach: “delaying disposal” while creating useful public assets. There’s also a playground in Rotterdam, crafted from five blades into tunnels and towers, which has remained in good shape over its 15‑year lifespan.
The United States’ fiberglass recovery
Carbon Rivers, a U.S. company supported by the Department of Energy, has brought to market a fiberglass recycling technique that extracts intact glass fibers from decommissioned blades, an industrial-scale approach to reclaim rare materials from complex composites
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