Hasta La Ideas

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pa href=”http://www.epfl-ecal-lab.ch/page32323.html”emSunny Memories/em/a, a traveling exhibition exploring the application of dye-based solar cells, landed at the Center for Architecture during New York Design Week and runs through June 6th. Above, Laetitia Wolff of a href=”http://futureflair.com/”Futureflair/a and Nicolas Henchoz of a href=”http://www.epfl-ecal-lab.ch”EPFL+ECAL Lab/a walk us through 5 highlights./p

pThe story begins with a partnership between designers and engineers. The EPFL+ECAL Lab is an outpost of the Swiss technology bureau Ecole Polyteacute;chnique Fedeacute;rale de Lausanne (EPFL) that lives within the design school at ECAL. Their goal is to find ways to integrate and apply new technologies by bringing them straight to designers. /p

pFor this exhibition, the EPFL+ECAL Lab invited three other schools, the California College of the Arts (CCA), the Royal College of Art (RCA), and Ecole Nationale Supeacute;rieure de Creacute;ation Industrielle (ENSCI), to explore a colorant-based solar cell technology invented by Michael Graetzel at EPFL a few years ago. /p

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pThe cells are best explained in the show’s catalog: /p

blockquoteA colorant is poured onto ceramic powder which is heated at 400 degrees and sits between two plates of glass. A liquid conductormdash;an electrolytemdash;serves as a kind of sauce, the final ingredient in this sandwich. An electric wire is connected to the top glass, another to the lower glass and the cell is ready to work. The technique used to deposit the powdermdash;the colorant’s supportmdash;comes from screenprinting and can thus be used for refined patterns and even texts./blockquote

pThe results are impressivemdash;the four schools produced work that touched all parts of daily life, from architectural pavilions to radios and horticulture. The new capabilities of the dye-based cell combined with the inventiveness of the students moved the projects away from the familiar aesthetic of the surface-applied, black and blue pholtovataic. The best part is that one-third of the projects shown are feasible now, and the rest within ten years. /p

pImages and descriptions of several of the projects follow./p

pENSCI: /p

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pemHelio/em by Leacute;a Longisbr /
Big time radio is back! In an era of miniaturization for electronic objects, Helio gives radio back the ability to captivate as it used to. Recalling the esthetic of tube amplifiers, the device showcases cells whose direction and colour complement each other to capture almost all of the light spectrum./p

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pemElectriflore/em by Alexandre Kournwskybr /
A wall fixture to encourage plant growth: a solar energy-fed electric current circulates in the floor to help plants growmdash;the new solar cells, inspired by photosynthesis, are making their tribute to plants. Electriflore can be bent as needed to allow the grower to add plant food capsules.br /
/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/ny_design_week_10/new_york_design_week_2010_dye-based_photovoltaics_at_sunny_memories_16633.asp”(more…)/a
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