The Solar Seesaw offers a participatory approach to shaping landscape and producing clean energy.

Soft light dapples the park beneath engaging public art that powers hundreds of homes with CZTS solar.

Inspired by the geometry, structure, and intricate patterns of a palm frond, The Solar Seesaw is a series of biomimetic photovoltaic thin-film solar modules arrayed in smooth fin shapes, sprouting in symmetrical pairs from raised podiums in the park. As in desert oases, these kinetic orchards create a pleasant outdoor microclimate and an inviting communal space. Just like palm foliage, the leaves perpetually collect solar energy, filter solar radiation, flutter in the wind, and diffuse light like a mashrabiya to create a dynamic pattern of light and shadow on the ground plane below.
 

The lightweight scissor structures supporting the solar fronds interact with visitors. As people walk around and sit on the podium, their weight triggers the dynamic structure, gently lowering the podium, activating the scissor hinge, and transforming the artwork into an enclosed and protected outdoor room. As visitors underneath move and disperse, the structure restores its balance, the podium lifts out of the ground, and the solar fronds rise into the air like wings taking flight.
 

Along the edges of the artwork is a landscape that reinforces the green spine of Masdar City’s northwest axis and creates a comfortable microclimate. The design integrates native plants selected for their low-water requirements, optimizes naturally diffused daylight, and integrates passive evaporative and radiant cooling along the platforms of the structure.

The copper-zinc-tin-sulfide (CZTS) semiconductor material used in The Solar Seesaw is composed of only abundant and non-toxic elements that are inexpensive to manufacture and environmentally friendly.

LAGI 2019 is sponsored by Masdar and is held in partnership with the 24th World Energy Congress.