In an effort to make solar panels beautiful, Marjan van Aubel has created translucent, stained-glass-like photovoltaics, which have been unveiled as part of the Netherlands' pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020.
The solar panels are installed on the roof of The Dutch Biotope pavilion, where they serve the dual role of powering the exhibition and allowing sunlight into the space.
Marjan van Aubel's tinted solar panels form a skylight in the Dutch pavilion
The panels have a moiré-effect pattern rendered in pinks and blues, and cast tinted light onto visitors in the space.
Van Aubel created the work to show that as well as providing an important source of renewable energy, solar panels "can be beautiful and a form of art".
"At different points in the day the light, shadows and colours will change and so I hope it feels like a constantly changing immersive experience, similar to the light falling through a stained-glass window," van Aubel told Dezeen. The solar panels fill the space with coloured light
"Besides providing power for the pavilion, I like the fact that the colours chosen for the design are not only beautiful but also cool down the pavilion," she continued.
The Dutch Biotope pavilion, designed by V8 Architects, is a miniature self-sustaining world that creates its own water, energy and crops.
The colours of the solar panels allow light in at the wavelengths that plants need for photosynthesis, between 400 and 700 nanometres.
The solar panels fe...