French car manufacturer Citroën has unveiled a new logo that recalls the brand’s original 1919 logo, to mark the start of a “dynamic era” and its mission to make electric vehicles more accessible.
The new logo, which was created by the Citroën design team and global brand design agency Stellantis Design Studio, sees the return of the oval to enclose the automaker’s deux chevrons – two upside-down V’s that recall chevron herringbone patterns.
The chevrons have also been refreshed to be thicker and “more prominent” than in the original while the oval has been softened and stretched.
Citroën has unveiled a new logo that resembles its original 1919 logo
According to Citroën, these changes pay homage to the brand’s first logo adopted by founder André Citroën while making it feel familiar yet “modern and contemporary”.
“As we embark on probably the most exciting chapter in our illustrious 103-year history, the time is right for Citroën to adopt a modern and contemporary new look,” said Citroën chief executive officer Vincent Cobée.
“Our new identity is an elegant symbol of progress as we move our customers physically and emotionally by ensuring their entire experience – particularly going electric – is more affordable, comfortable and enjoyable whatever their wants and needs,” added Cobée.
The logo will be rolled out on all Citroën cars from mid-2023
The logo, which is the tenth major redesign for the brand, will be first used on a conceptual Citroën family vehicle at the end of September, before being rolled out to all Citroën models from mid-2023 onwards.
It replaces the company’s previous two larger shaded chevrons logo, which was last updated in 2016.
Although the logo is a return to the past, the brand claims that it signifies its switch in focus to electric vehicles, such as its Ami One Concept electric vehicle, designed to be an alternative to both shared bikes and cars.
“By embracing our roots and reinterpreting our identity in a modern way, we are sending a clear message to everyone that while we’re staying true to our brand DNA, things are changing dramatically at Citroën,” said head of Citroën marketing and communication Laurent Barria.
It replaces the previous deux chevrons symbol, which was updated in 2016
The British Royal Mint has unveiled the first coins to include an effigy of King Charles III, which was designed by British sculptor Martin Jennings.
Unveiled today, the 50 pence coin and commemorative £5 coin are the first currency to be minted with an effigy of King Charles III, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II earlier this month.
The first coins featuring King Charles III have been unveiled
King Charles III’s image differs in two major ways from the Queen’s. He is depicted facing to the left, as it is traditional for the British monarch to look in the opposite direction to their predecessor.
Unlike the Queen, he is not depicted wearing a crown. This aligns with many previous monarchs, including his grandfather King George VI and great grandfather King George V.
The coins feature a sculpture of King Charles III made by Martin Jennings
The image of the King was created from a sculpture made by Jennings, which replicates a photograph of the monarch. It will be produced on the majority of British coins that will be introduced to replace those featuring the Queen.
“It is a privilege to sculpt the first official effigy of His Majesty and to receive his personal approval for the design,” said Jennings.
“The portrait was sculpted from a photograph of The King, and was inspired by the iconic effigies that have graced Britain’s coins over the centuries,” he continued.
“It is the smallest work I have created, but it is humbling to know it will be seen and held by people around the world for centuries to come.”
A commemorative £5 coin has also been released
The 50 pence will enter circulation, while the £5 coin is a commemorative piece. More coins featuring King Charles III will be introduced by the Royal Mint over the coming months, but the 27 billion coins featuring the Queen that are currently in circulation will remain legal currency.
As coins generally stay in circulation for 20 years, people in the UK should expect to be using coins featuring both monarchs for many years.
“As we move from the Elizabethan to the Carolean era it represents the biggest change to Britain’s coinage in decades, and the first time that many people will have seen a different effigy,” said director of The Royal Mint Museum Kevin Clancy.
“Over the coming years, it will become common for people to find coins bearing His Majesty and Queen Elizabeth II’s effigy in their change, engaging new generations in the story of Britain’s Royal Family.”
This year’s Oslo Architecture Triennale presents strategies for building better urban neighbourhoods. From rewilding to co-living, Dezeen editor-at-large Amy Frearson picks five of the most interesting ideas.
The eighth Oslo Architecture Triennale, which has the theme Mission Neighbourhood, sees the former Munch Museum in Tøyen temporarily transformed into the Oslo Neighbourhood Lab.
The venue is hosting exhibitions, conversations and workshops that explore how architects, designers and city stakeholders can help to create “more sustainable, diverse and generous” neighbourhoods.
One of the exhibitions on show is Mission Neighbourhood – (Re)forming Communities.
This features a series of real-life projects that challenge traditional ideas of how housing communities should be planned.
“There’s a growing demand for improvement”
“An intense debate on housing quality and housing access is taking place in Oslo, and internationally,” said Christian Pagh, director and chief curator of the triennale.
“There’s a growing demand for improvement and for friendly, human-scaled environments that add benefit beyond sleeping, shopping and a fast commute to the city.”
Here are five of the most innovative ideas on show:
Building communities around geothermal energy Hotspots
This project from Bjarke Ingels’ firm BIG explores how power plants can become neighbourhood assets.
It has become the norm to position energy infrastructure on the outskirts of a city to avoid issues of environmental damage. But with the shift towards clean forms of energy, rather than fossil fuels, it’s now possible for power plants to become a more integral part of communities.
Working with energy provider Innargi, BIG has developed the Hotspots Catalogue, a guidebook showcasing the many different ways that geothermal power plants could help to bring people together. Uses include co-working hubs, sports facilities and recycling stations.
Rethinking housing estates Gellerup New Nature Park
One of Denmark’s largest social housing estates, Gellerup in Aarhus, is reimagined in this project by Danish landscape firm SLA, designed in collaboration with architects EFFEKT.
In an attempt to tackle social issues that are common in mass housing from the 1960s and 70s, the designers transformed the sparse open space at the heart of the estate into a biodiverse and climate-resilient park.
The transformation has strengthened the sense of community among residents, and made Gellerup a safer and more eco-friendly place to live, according to the studios.
Preserving wild nature in the city Freie Mitte
This project shows that wilderness can have value in the city.
When an abandoned railyard in Vienna was slated for redevelopment, Austrian office StudioVlayStreeruwitz was able to convince planning authorities to only add buildings around the edges of the site and leave the centre in its overgrown state.
With the first stage of construction now complete the site has not only become a haven for wildlife, but also a space of recreation and discovery for local residents.
Creating spaces for community engagement Croydon Urban Room
Locals in the London Borough of Croydon get to have a say in how their neighbourhood is developed, thanks to this initiative from council-run group Croydon Placemaking.
By occupying spaces on the high street – from vacant shop units to libraries – the Croydon Urban Room creates spaces where people feel welcome to come and share their experiences or voice their opinions.
Flexible, custom-made furniture is key to the way these spaces function. This modular kit of parts can be used in a variety of configurations to attract young and old participants alike.
Providing different types of housing Delegården
Nordic architecture studio Kaleidoscope suggests a more social alternative to the typical apartment block in this proposal for Bergen, Norway.
The ground floor of the six-storey building will provide residents with communal spaces and facilities that include a sauna, a laundry, a neighbourhood bar and a pop-up space. There will also be a shared roof terrace and common outdoor spaces that incorporate a garden kitchen and an allotment for growing fruit and vegetables.
At a time when people increasingly live alone, the project hopes to create opportunities to bring neighbours closer together.
The 115,000-square-metre Shanghai Library East, located in the Pudong district of Shanghai, is the biggest library in the country.
Schmidt Hammer Lassen designed its monumental shape in reference to a unique type of stone from the region, called Taihu stone, which has perforated surfaces and eroded hollows.
Shanghai Library East was designed to look like a stone
The stone is known as “scholars’ rocks” and was widely used in Chinese gardens for centuries. It also features in ancient Chinese literature, which often referenced its shape-shifting look.
“This library was a unique opportunity to reinterpret a cherished Chinese symbol through architecture and design,” said project architect Jing Lin.
“In ancient times, scholars would gather around Taihu stones, deriving inspiration from their edges, curvatures, canyons, and tunnels, which seemed to shift when viewed from different vantage points,” she added.
“Similarly, as visitors move about Shanghai Library East, their views of its interconnecting spaces shapeshift.”
Shanghai Library East is the largest library in China
SHL also designed the exterior of the seven-storey library to reference literature. Fifteen photographs of marble swirls were “printed” onto the facade’s glass panels in homage to China’s long history of printed literature.
The printed panels were designed with varying degrees of transparency to help allow more natural light into the building.
The library appears to float over a park
The main structure of the building is supported by two pavilions. Seen from afar, this makes the library’s main volume appear to “float”, as the pavilions at the bottom are covered by the trees in the adjacent Century Park.
One of the pavilions houses a 1,200-seat theatre, exhibition, and events space; the other is a children’s library with a central courtyard and outdoor play spaces.
Outdoor reading spaces on top of the library provide a view overlooking Century Park.
The atrium at the entrance connects all seven floors of the building. Photo is by Tian Fangfang
Shanghai Library East’s open interior features interconnected spaces and multiple openings, which were also designed in reference to Taihu stone with its multiple hollows.
Bamboo, oak, and terrazzo were used to create a welcoming central atrium at the entrance of the building, which connects the library’s seven levels.
Bamboo, oak, and terrazzo are used in the interior to create a welcoming atmosphere. Photo is by Tian Fangfang
SHL created stacking and interlocking different floors to ensure all floors are visible from the central atrium. The ground floor can be used to host events and exhibitions, and also holds a bookstore and a cafe.
According to Shanghai Library East, more than 80 per cent of the building’s space is dedicated to community activity.
It estimates that the library will house over 1,200 events for more than four million visitors each year.
“This important cultural centre for the citizens of Shanghai embraces the idea of ‘collection to connection’ – a space to bring people together,” said SHL design director and chief architect Chris Hardie.
An installation by Chinese artist Xu Bing is the centrepiece in the main reading area of the building
Ten contemporary Chinese and international artists were invited to create site-specific permanent installations for the library centred around the theme of print, book or stone.
Among them is Bird, an installation created by Chinese artist Xu Bing for the third floor inside the main reading area of the building. It consists of 842 paper “birds” hanging from the ceiling as if flying towards the glass window facing the park.
The lending library will also house cultural events
The studio is currently working on several cultural projects in China, including two performing arts venues at Westbund Shanghai and a performing arts centre in Beijing.
The video and photography is by RawVision unless stated otherwise.
Project credits:
Design director: Chris Hardie Design team: Lu Rong, Jing Lin, Simon Persson, Bartek Winnicki, Tasha Feng, Sicong Liu, Michelle Tang , Liang Dong, Xiaoshu He, Xing Meng, Qi Zhao, Zhao Wu, Lanqing Hu, Xuewei Liu, Fangzhou Zhu, Morten Schmidt, Lukasz Truchalski, Trushit Vyas, Steven YN Chen, Morten Nielsen, Sebastiano Cattiodoro, Steven Morten, Tade Godberse, Chao Chen, Beihong Mao, Xianjing Jia, Jiaqige Sheng, Si Chen Local Architect: Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Landscape: ASPECT Studios Structure Consultant: Schlaich Bergermann Partner MEP Consultant: Buro Happold Façade Consultant: Shanghai DHD Curtain Wall Design & Consulting, Shanghai Institute of Architectural Design & Research, DS-plan Contractor: Shanghai Construction No.4 Group
Dezeen Showroom: kitchen brand Space Theory has released a minimal kitchen island that is made up of a basic welded steel structure with storage and amenities slotted in.
Daylight is characterised by its outer shell that becomes fully configurable with the selection and reorganisation of appliances, drawers and specialised storage solutions.
Drawers are designed to be looked into from a closed position
Shallow drawers and generous spacing between components allows utensils and other stored items to be clearly seen, with concealed outlets set into partitions for added functionality.
Via the Space Theory’s Design Engine, users can select the length, contents and finishes of their kitchen island to create a fully bespoke product.
Daylight comes in a variety of natural and neutral finishes
“The island embodies Space Theory’s goal of offering clients a simplified approach to kitchen design that focuses on functionality, lasting quality and adaptability,” said the brand.
Daylight is available in two-bay to five-bay format finished in wood, acrylic, stone, and Paperstone in a range of neutral colours.
Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen’s huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.
Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.
The sun will power a key part of NASA‘s upcoming Artemis 1 mission via a solar sail developed by Alabama company NeXolve to fly a craft into deep space without needing fuel.
Solar sails use the momentum from light to push a spacecraft along without propellant, similar to how the wind propels a sailboat on the high seas.
NeXolve‘s solar sail will be attached to NASA‘s shoebox-sized Near-Earth Asteroid Scout (NEAS), a type of small spacecraft known as a CubeSat that will be jettisoned from Artemis 1‘s rocket and sent to explore a small asteroid near Earth.
Technology could aid Mars mission
The mission will demonstrate the potential of solar-sail technology, which NASA has never deployed at this scale and which could one day be used to assist a mission to Mars.
“Solar sails are capable of achieving very high velocity and thus reducing trip times for missions to destinations far away from the Earth,” Nexolve president Jim Moore told Dezeen.
Solar sails work because light particles, or photons, radiating from the sun have momentum and exert force on objects they touch. In space, without the protection of the Earth’s atmosphere, sunlight is so abundant that this solar radiation pressure can be harnessed for travel.
To work the sail needs to be very thin — 40-to-100 times slighter than a piece of writing paper, according to NASA — and reflective so as to generate the most amount of thrust possible as the photons bounce off.
NeXolve’s solar sail is ultra-thin and unfurls to an area of 86 square metres
They also need to be big to capture enough photons to have an effect. The solar sail that will unfurl from the tiny NEAS will measure 86 square metres, equivalent to roughly one side of a volleyball court.
It is made of a material originally developed by NASA and licensed by NeXolve called Colorless Polyimide 1 (CP1) that Moore says retains its strength and flexibility in the hostile space environment, covered with a reflective coating.
NeXolve has developed manufacturing techniques that allow it to manufacture film from this material at a thickness of only 2.5 microns (0.0025 millimetres), so it weighs approximately half as much as other polyimide films.
Use of “free” energy reduces need for fuel
The thrust from the solar sail can push a craft through space but it can also allow it to hover at a fixed point or rotate – moves that would typically require a significant amount of fuel. Without as much need for fuel, craft can be smaller and lighter and can reach deep-space destinations faster.
“Solar sails harness and reflect the sun’s energy to produce a low but continuous acceleration in space,” said NeXolve aerospace products director Jim Pearson. “Over the long term, the continuous acceleration results in high velocity that enables deep-space science missions.”
“Solar sail missions can also be coupled with innovative sun swing-by trajectories to benefit from even more ‘free’ energy.”
According to Moore, the sails are particularly attractive for applications like space weather monitoring that require a spacecraft to fly in an unstable orbit position for which they need continuous thrust to hold their trajectory, making it easier to predict solar storms that can cause problems with power grids, satellites and communications equipment.
“A solar sail would allow the space weather monitoring satellites to fly closer to the sun and significantly improve warning time for Solar storm events,” said Moore. “This additional time would allow better safeing precautions to be put into effect to prepare systems for the upcoming solar flare disruptions.”
The technology may also have an application in geoengineering for use as a space sunshield to help mitigate global warming.
“Looking even further into the future, very large solar-sail-like structures may be built in Earth orbit to block some of the sun’s energy from reaching the Earth,” said Moore.
Solar power “even more abundant” in space
Solar sails are not the only solar space technology that NeXolve is working on. The company began working in this field in the 1980s with Solar Thermal Propulsion (STP) technology, which involves focusing sunlight via a reflector to heat rocket propellant.
Moore calls the sun “the most abundant and renewable source of energy available to humans” and says that its abundance in space opens up opportunities that aren’t available on Earth.
The solar sail and metal arms fold up to a small package and will be deployed from a shoebox-sized spacecraft
“On Earth, solar power is a growing form of renewable energy currently accounting for about four per cent of the electrical energy production in the United States and this percentage grows every year,” said Moore. “In space, solar energy is even more abundant for applications in Earth orbit and on the moon.”
“There have been many design concepts developed that would use huge solar arrays in earth orbit to collect energy and beam it down to Earth to feed the power grid,” he continued. “NASA’s future activities on the moon will rely heavily on solar energy for electrical power and other applications such as heating lunar regolith to mine water and oxygen, creating building materials, and environmental control of facilities.”
Artemis 1 mission set for October following delays
Artemis 1 is the first flight in NASA’s Artemis programme, which aims to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972 and eventually facilitate a human mission to Mars.
The uncrewed moon-orbiting mission will be a test for the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket as well as carrying 10 CubeSat satellites, including the NEAS, that will disperse for their own scientific missions.
The Artemis 1 launch was scheduled for 29 August 2022 but has been postponed several times, initially due to technical issues and most recently because of Hurricane Ian. The next launch attempt is now likely to take place in mid-October at the earliest.
This article is part of Dezeen’s Solar Revolution series, which explores the varied and exciting possible uses of solar energy and how humans can fully harness the incredible power of the sun.
Kim Kardashian‘s skincare brand Skkn has released Home Accessories Collection, a five-piece homeware collection designed to mimic the “calming aesthetic and neutral colour palette of Kardashian’s home”.
The five-piece range, which is the first homeware collection released by the American TV reality personality, is made entirely from concrete and designed to be used in the bathroom.
“Each decorative piece is crafted from hand-poured concrete and infused with a minimalist design that mimics the calming aesthetic and neutral color palette of Kardashian’s home,” Skkn said.
“Designed to marry art and functionality, the collection reimagines the home into a serene, clutter-free oasis,” the brand added.
Kim Kardashian has released a collection of homeware products for the bathroom
Kardashian described the collection, which includes a vanity tray, spherical storage container, tissue box, waste basket and a canister with a lid, as “modern, minimalistic elegance”.
“I knew I wanted to complement my skincare collection with home accessories, designed to display my products and elevate the home with modern, minimalistic elegance,” said Kardashian.
“When designing this collection, I wanted to bring the monochromatic interior design elements from my home to others. I’m excited to be able to share this collection with everyone.”
All of the stone products come in a shade of grey that stems from Kardashian’s signature neutral grey and beige colour palette, which many refer to as “greige” and which the celebrity has used in both her home and for her clothing collections.
The Skkn By Kim logo is embossed on the front.
“Each piece has its own unique texture and stone effect with an ornate patina occurring over time, making no two pieces exactly the same,” Skkn said.
Kardashian wanted the collection to reflect her home
This is Kardashian’s first official homeware range, but the reality star is no stranger to product design and often discussed her love of interior design and architecture on the hit reality TV show Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Next-gen solar parks that enable energy and food production as well as water conservation to work in synergy on the same plot can help to solve solar‘s growing land-use issue, according to the researchers making them a reality.
“There is this big debate around using land for solar versus using it for agriculture,” said Colorado State University researcher Jennifer Bousselot. “And I just roll my eyes because you don’t have to pick. They can be combined.”
“This will be absolutely vital to the future of the energy industry,” added Richard Randle-Boggis from the University of Sheffield. “Especially somewhere like the UK, where sustainable land use is a critical challenge.”
Plants and panels can exist in “symbiosis”
Agrivoltaic solar parks see photovoltaic (PV) panels spaced further apart to allow more sunlight to reach the ground, and raised higher in the air so that crops – or even small livestock such as lambs – can be reared underneath.
When arranged in the right way, studies have found this approach can actually offer compounding advantages such as shielding plants from excessive heat, cold and UV damage, thereby increasing the yield of certain crops.
“One study found certain peppers will have three times the production,” said Bousselot. “That’s a shocking number.”
As global temperatures rise, the panels can also help to conserve dwindling freshwater supplies by reducing evaporation from both plants and soil.
What evaporation does occur underneath the panels has the added benefit of cooling the PVs and boosting their electricity production, according to Randle-Boggis, a research associate at the University of Sheffield.
Top: agrivoltaics are being trialled at Jacks Solar Farm in Colorado. Photo is by Thomas Hickey. Above: the system is also being researched in Kenya. Photo is by Chloride Exide
“It’s a symbiosis because they’re both benefiting each other,” he told Dezeen.
As a result, agrivoltaics don’t just use land more sustainably, they also help to bolster supplies of the most indispensable resources needed for human development – food, water and energy.
“The three resources we’re going to need can all be managed more efficiently in an agrivoltaic system,” Bousselot explained.
“When you think about our population into the future, having 9 billion people by mid-century, we have to start looking at that to build resilience.”
Agrivoltaics see three-thousandfold increase in capacity
As the world aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement – and Europe attempts to reduce its reliance on Russian hydrocarbons in the wake of the Ukraine invasion – countries are racing to ramp up their solar capacity.
But solar projects are increasingly being refused planning permission and faced with pushback from rural communities and farmers, who are worried that PV arrays will “blight” the local landscape and take fertile farmland out of production.
“There’s a lot of backlash facing the solar industry, especially at the moment,” Randle-Boggis explained. “It’s getting a lot of flack.”
Co-locating wildflowers and solar panels can attract pollinators. Photo is by Hollie Blaydes
To combat these land-use conflicts, a growing body of research is showing how the unused space underneath solar panels can be repurposed to benefit humans and nature alike.
At a more basic level, this can involve planting flowery meadows alongside PV arrays to create habitats for pollinators, which can improve biodiversity and potentially even increase crop production in surrounding farmland.
More advanced agrivoltaic systems, which co-locate solar panels with food crops, have been in development across mainland Europe as well as parts of East Asia and the US for the last 15 years and are now starting to become more common.
Ranging from research projects to commercial operations, these systems recently reached the same solar capacity as the entire UK, skyrocketing from five to 14,000 megawatts between 2012 and 2021.
“Over the last three or four years, it’s really taken off,” Randle-Boggis said.
Agrivoltaic plots more productive despite lower yields
How much food and energy can be generated from an agrivoltaics project is highly dependent on the location of the system, the crops being grown and the positioning of the panels.
Farmers in darker, colder countries like Germany or Denmark have to use a lower density of panels and space them further apart, so as not to rob the crops of the limited available sunlight.
Colorado State University researchers are using semi-transparent solar panels. Photo is by Thomas Hickey
But overall, the productivity of an agrivoltaic plot is still higher, Randle-Boggis says, as it is producing two different outputs at the same time.
“Some reduction in yield is still better than growing nothing,” he argued. “It’s about finding that economically optimal balance.”
Researchers are also experimenting with novel technologies such as semi-transparent solar panels, vertical photovoltaic “fences” or grow lights mounted on the underside of traditional panels to improve the yield of agrivoltaic systems in light-starved environments.
System is crucial for drought-stricken regions
So far, some of the best results from agrivoltaic systems have been achieved in harsh, hot growing conditions such as in Arizona, where one study found that the production of cherry tomatoes doubled and chiltepin peppers tripled under solar panels.
“In those settings, it’s so hot and we’re also starting to face droughts,” explained Thomas Hickey of energy company Sandbox Solar. “So if you can put a little bit more shade over those crops, then it will benefit them.”
Randle-Boggis found similar results on a test plot in Kenya, where panels were placed at a higher density to shield crops from sun and UV damage, allowing for higher electricity generation while reducing the amount of water needed for irrigation by 47 per cent and growing cabbages that were 24 per cent larger.
Richard Randle-Boggis worked on a test plot in Kenya. Photo is by Chloride Exide
This is especially significant in countries like Kenya, where unprecedented droughtscaused by global warming are already affecting food and water security, and where buying electricity from the national grid is exceedingly expensive, according to Randle-Boggis.
“We’ve reduced their reliance on the national grid, so they’re becoming more self-sufficient,” he explained.
“And there is also the potential for climate-change resilience, because you’re essentially creating a more favourable growing environment and curbing some of those extreme conditions.”
Rooftop agrivoltaics secure resources in cities
Another harsh growing environment in which agrivoltaics can excel is on rooftop farms, where limited water and higher temperatures can hinder both the functioning of panels and the growth of crops.
“When the temperatures get above 25 degrees Celsius, solar panels start to lose efficiency,” said Bousselot. “And by 40 degrees, they’re pretty much off.”
“Rooftops get to that temperature pretty quickly in the summer. So the plants actually benefit the panels because they’re evaporative coolers.”
In a climate like Colorado, where Bousselot is running some of the very first test plots dedicated to rooftop agrivoltaics, the panels have also been shown to extend the growing season of some crops by keeping them warmer at night.
“It’s like having a mini greenhouse without sides,” she explained.
Ultimately, Bousselot argues that rooftop agrivoltaics could help to concentrate essential resources where they are most needed, as more than two-thirds of the world’s population are expected to live in cities by 2050.
“It’s a really neat idea because you’re just getting maximum productive use out of an area that’s already heavily developed,” Randle-Boggis agreed.
Uncertainty a hurdle to adoption
Agrivoltaics are currently in their infancy, with researchers still in the early stages of charting what configurations and crops should be used in different climates to create optimal yields.
“With all the unknown variables, adoption is hard,” Hickey said. “It’s very slow going.”
“There’s so much variability in the results that we’re getting, just because there are so many factors and it is such a new area of research,” Randle-Boggis added.
“It won’t work for every context. So the main focus for solar will still be your typical ground-mounted solar park.”
Jennifer Bousselot is trialling rooftop agrivoltaics at Colorado State University. Photo is by Thomas Hickey
In an attempt to convert farmers and developers to the cause, Hickey’s company Sandbox Solar is currently developing an agrivoltaic design and modelling software called Spade in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL).
It will allow users to get a rough idea of what crops and configurations they could use in their local climate, as well as the associated costs and profits based on existing research.
“So you can understand what input costs and what outputs you’ll have – both from the solar and potentially from the crops – and how long the return on investment of that infrastructure would be,” Hickey said.
Mounting systems more expensive, carbon-intensive and disruptive
There are other practical challenges to bringing agrivoltaics into the mainstream.
In general, dual-use solar systems cost more money to install, due to the larger and more complex mounting systems needed to hold up the panels.
Installing rooftop agrivoltaics, for example, can cost three times as much as installing a traditional flat roof, according to Bousselot.
Agrivoltaics allow plants to work in synergy with solar panels. Photo is by Thomas Hickey
“It is a high initial capital cost,” she explained. “But the long term return on investment is terrific because you end up protecting these [water, energy and food] systems.”
Since agrivoltaics are raised higher above the ground than conventional solar panels, Randle-Boggis says they also need deeper steel foundations and therefore come with a higher embodied carbon footprint.
“They might also be more visually undesirable,” he added. “How that balances with the fact that you’re maintaining the agricultural land is something we will need to find out.”
This article is part of Dezeen’s Solar Revolution series, which explores the varied and exciting possible uses of solar energy and how humans can fully harness the incredible power of the sun.
Although it has been a while since the last Nintendo DS and PS Vita sold on the market, handheld gaming devices haven’t really disappeared. One might say that the somewhat niche market has grown even bigger than before, thanks to the confluence of several factors. Mobile games on smartphones have formed a billion dollar industry, and the success of the Nintendo Switch has spurred many new devices, including Valve’s rare Steam Deck. While handheld PCs are now sprouting up left and right, there seems to be another current that’s building momentum. Handheld gaming devices powered by the mobile Android platform seem to be making a comeback, and the latest to show their vision include three of the tech industry’s biggest names.
Razer made a name for itself with its cool-looking, high-performance computer accessories designed for gamers. Over time, it has also produced gaming laptops so that everything will look coherent and function together properly. Razer has even dabbled in making its own gaming smartphone, using Android, of course, but that fell by the wayside quickly. It’s not throwing in the towel just yet, though, and its partners just teased a new mobile gaming device that will be fully unveiled next month.
The Razer Edge 5G is a collaboration with Verizon, which will be power the 5G experience, and Qualcomm, whose silicon will be powering the device. The name actually comes from a much older product from Razer and one if its first attempts at mobile gaming. That ill-fated Razer Edge, however, may have been far too ahead of its time, offering a PC tablet that could be equipped with a gaming controller and a keyboard.
In contrast, the Razer Edge 5G will be more familiar to mobile gamers in more ways than one. Late last year, Razer and Qualcomm already announced a partnership that created a development kit for Qualcomm’s new gaming-centric processor. This “dev kit” came in the form of a gaming handheld not unlike the Nintendo Switch Lite in appearance, though with a more interesting curvature on top that makes it look more like a gigantic “Game & Watch” of old. At this point in time, gaming handhelds with a large screen in the middle flanked by buttons, D-pads, and joysticks are no longer a novel appearance.
The teaser of the Razer Edge 5G that Verizon shared suggests something that looks less like that prototype and more like a Switch with flat top and bottom edges. The design of the buttons and shoulder triggers are also different, and the branding definitely leans more towards a Razer device. Nothing else has been mentioned, and we’ll be hearing all the details on October 15th at RazerCon.
Although such a design is familiar by now, it still raises the question if it will be a commercial success. This wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to sell an Android device dedicated to gaming, and previous attempts all died out in favor of plain smartphones with some accessories or gaming gimmicks. Perhaps the time is ripe, now that there is an abundance of handheld gaming devices, so we’ll have tow wait for the Logitech G Cloud and Razer Edge 5G to hit the market to see if that’s the case.
Writer Stefan Simanowitz and architect Antonio Pisanò are proposing a memorial garden for Queen Elizabeth II that would see part of the Buckingham Palace Garden converted into a “natural sanctuary” for the public.
The duo proposes that a piece of land alongside the busy Grosvenor Place road in central London is converted from the Buckingham Palace Garden into the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Gardens.
Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on 8 September, lived in private quarters in Buckingham Palace. Its garden is currently only open to the public as part of paid-for guided tours.
The garden would be located along Grosvenor Place
The proposed memorial garden would “turn a strip of London which is one of the most unprepossessing, most polluted parts of London into a kind of natural sanctuary, where people can have a place for tranquility,” Buckingham Palace Park Project founder Simanovitz told Dezeen.
While the existing perimeter wall would be retained under the proposal, Simanowitz and Pisanò suggest opening up additional arches.
A new, high-security fence would cordon off the memorial gardens from the rest of Buckingham Palace Garden, though the exact dimensions and final content of the garden haven’t yet been determined.
It would have a meadow-like feel
“Our vision is to have a place which will reflect Her Majesty’s love of nature and try and capture it in a beautiful walled garden, carved from just a sliver of the 42-acre Buckingham Palace Gardens,” Pisanò said.
“It will be an act of care towards London and its unique, fragile yet resilient ecosystem.”
Arches would open the space up towards the street
While the proposal would leave the existing trees undisturbed, it suggests planting wildflowers and other plants from all over the British Isles to create a meadow-like garden that would also function as a natural playground for children.
Queen Elizabeth II already has a park named after her, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, but the new proposal wouldn’t be “just another park,” Simanowitz said.
“In terms of what you want for a memorial, having a place close to where the Queen lived, a place where she would have actually walked and enjoyed herself – because there is such an outpouring of grief, the idea of coming to a place that she loved would be very powerful,” Simanowitz said.
“I think while it could be seen as just another park, giving it the name Memorial Garden and asking people to turn off their phones, making people think about what the Queen meant to them and about loss and love, would help them connect with those powerful things in a beautiful park in central London,” he added.
The memorial park would be open to the public
The Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Gardens is currently just a proposal and does not yet have funding, but if it is given consent to go ahead by the palace, Simanowitz is confident that funds could be found either from the government or via crowdfunding.
The writer first proposed the park to the Royal Household in 2015 and received a reply from the assistant private secretary to the then Prince Charles – now King Charles III – who said the Prince was interested to learn of the idea.
Simanowitz shifted the proposal, which did not go further at the time, to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and it has now evolved into the Memorial Gardens proposal.
The Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Gardens would be a “natural sanctuary”
The team behind the Buckingham Palace Park Project says it is “hopeful” that King Charles III will champion the proposal, “given his ecological and environmental credentials and his commitment to sustainable approaches to planning.”
King Charles III has a history of taking an interest in architectural projects in London, which has led to the cancellation of modernist projects in the city. He has also backed the development of more traditional towns, including Poundbury, the design of which he controlled.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
