LA VIE EN ROSE
Sheets of glass ranging from pink to claret define the walls of a minimalist habitative cell that explores the technical, aesthetic and ethical possibilities thrown up by the new solar technologies. Surfaces screen-printed with special pink, organic and hybrid photovoltaic ink produce energy when exposed to direct, indirect and artificial light sources, triggering a virtuous circle of energy consumption and production. Thirty-three internal square metres and twelve metres of loggia/greenhouse encompass all the residential functions required by a couple looking from the contemporary to the future, bringing elements of memory with them. The loggia/greenhouse, a mediation space between the interior and exterior, controls the air conditioning and energy production and hosts plants and domestic utilities. A central plan, covered by a vault, is enclosed by a perimeter of server spaces and solar panels, which open as required, altering the space like theatrical scenery. The furnishings meld with the fixtures, the fixtures become furnishings and everything becomes transformed. The habitative cells duplicate and join together to generate architecture and landscapes that aspire to energy self-sufficiency.
ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS
The project “La Vie en Rose” explores the theme of sustainability by interpreting the technical and design possibilities of the Dye Sensitized Solar Cell(DSSC), a hybrid organic-inorganic system of electro chemical cells of the third generation. All the red internal surfaces of the living cell, including the table, are used as energy producing photovoltaic elements.
They are dye sensitized photovoltaic cells that are inspired by the process of chlorophyllic photosynthesis of plants where a series of chemical reactions occur in the leaves thanks to the absorption of solar radiation by dye molecules (Chlorophylia) and the transformation of light into nutrients for the plant itself.
The organic photovoltaic cell utilises a mix of materials in which a pigment absorbs the solar radiation and the other components extract the charge so as to produce electricity. The so-called Dye Sensitized Solar Cell was created in 1991 at the Lausanne Polytechnique by Professor Michael Grätzel using a photosensitive pigment obtained by chemical synthesis. It is also possible to obtain pigments such as anthocyanin naturally from blueberries and other dye sensitized pigments have been created from eggplant skins, blood oranges, spinach and even seaweed. A dedicated research centre “CHOSE” (Center for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy) was created in 2006 in Rome, by Regione Lazio, in collaboration with the University of Rome Tor Vergata. This scientific centre researches dye sensitized solar cells as well as similar systems with the aim to increase the efficiency, stability and lifespan of the panels as well as research into applications and production and industrialization processes. The prototype exhibited here was produced by the Dyepower University/Industrial consortium of which CHOSE is a part.
The Dye Sensitized Solar Cell System can be applied in many ways: inkjet, screen-print or by evaporation on surfaces such as glass, plastic or metal. The surface can be flat or curved, rigid or flexible. The Dye Sensitized Solar Cell System works efficiently independently from the solar orientation and meteorological conditions, in internal spaces and even with artificial light. The low cost of the materials, eco-sustainability through the total recycling of the elements as well as the easy surface application make it the ideal system for the living cell project by Lazzarini Pickering.
The photovoltaic film has been planned on the venetian blind blades of the external terrace/solar glasshouse and on of the internal surfaces of the space, as well as on the façade. Self cleaning screen-printed glass panels combined with the venetian blinds of the terrace/conservatory create a scintillating architecture. A housing complex, inspired by biomimetic systems of artificial photosynthesis in continuous architectural, spatial, functional and energetical transformation.
Credits
Project: Claudio Lazzarini and Carl Pickering
Collaborators: Giuseppe Postet, Anna Ceracchi, Carlo Guerrieri
Video: Roberta Molino
Sperimental Panel: Developed by Dyepower in collaboration with CHOSE
(Center for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy)
University of Rome Tor Vergata.
Art: Luana Perilli/The Gallery Apart Rome
Emanuele Becheri/ RITA URSO artopiagallery, Milan
