Making sustainable design beautiful
Designer Marjan van Aubel is doing some incredible work in how to make sustainable products beautiful and features of the home.
Marjan van Aubel has created colourful solar panels roof for the Netherlands pavilion during the 2020 Dubai Expo. The Skylights are made out lightweight organic transparent solar cells (OPV), which is a nontoxic easily recyclable material, following the principles of the circular economy, as they are lightweight and easily transportable and incredibly easy to take apart and reassemble making it the solar panel of the future. Traditional solar panels are made from rare and toxic materials, which are difficult to reuse and recycling. Additionally, Marjan van Aubel has stated that the payback time for this technology is under 1 year. The colours of the solar panels allow light in at the wavelengths that are ideal to maximise photosynthesis for plants between 400 and 700 nanometres. This project stands as a testament that solar panels don’t just have to be a source of energy but can be a beautiful form of art. The panels allow different coloured light to pour into a room, giving solar technology an artistic emotive value as well as a source of power.
She has also created smaller modern stain glass windows for the home. This technology allows a home to harness more of its surface area for sustainable energy whilst also providing an artistic feature to your home. The glass is made from dye sensitive solar cells, which use the properties of colour to create an electrical current. The window allows the user to charge household appliances directly from the windows.
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