“Rosetta” Responsive Solar Pavilion
Transparent solar panels, often made of a polymer with silver nanowires, can allow light to pass through while generating energy from sunlight. A hurdle in the adoption of this technology is its transparency, which often casts unwanted shadows and patterns. The team speculates that such shadows may become desirable if planned properly. “Rosetta,” is a pavilion that rotates in response to sunlight. Shadows are studied under a heliodon.
Designers: Sowmiya Selvakumaraswamy, Shimroth John Thomas, and Joseph Oliver Yap
Tutor: Yalda Sourani, PhD
Made as part of the Master of Design Innovation and Technology program under the School of Design of RMIT University
Evolution of the petal design
Polymer films were embedded in the petals to simulate flexible solar panels. It was discovered that having two kinds of transparencies aided in the function of blocking/collecting sunlight, as well as in the shadow play.