As part of the Triennial program at the Cooper Hewitt, the showing exhibit Why Design Now? presents some of the most innovative designs of contemporary culture. The exhibition, which addresses human and environmental concerns, includes designers dappling in all areas of the design field – from architecture, to fashion, and graphics to materials.
More about the exhibit after the break.
The MetaboliCity is a lightweight structure woven from millimeter-thick fiberglass rods supports plant life. The structure also includes organic, dye-sensitized solar cells, made from the dye of berries, that harvest the sun’s energy. In turn, the energy harvested powers a pump system that monitors and feeds the plants. ”These energy-harvesting canopies mimic the process of photosynthesis, wherein the dye, replacing chlorophyll, absorbs energy from sunlight to produce an electrical current in the solar cells.”
The exhibit will also feature “the third-generation of solar technology,” an impressive dye-sensitized solar-cell (DSC) PV window by Marc Thomas and Sylvia Tulloch of Dyesol. The window uses a dye that captures energy from light-releasing electrons, that is then trapped and conducted as electricity. The dye is sandwiched between two panels, one of which must be transparent, and becomes a modern stained glass window due to the dye. This technology can be directly incorporated into buildings by simply replacing conventional glass panels. And, there is currently research be conducted to explore the possibility of incorporating dye solar cells in prefinished steel roofing materials.
Don’t miss this exciting exhibit!
Check out the Cooper Hewitt for more information.
