Designer Shows the Solar Future for Buildings with Solar-Powered Textiles | Suntex

Designer Pauline van Dongen

Designer Pauline van Dongen is reportedly developing a new material power packed with renewable energy which can be easily woven into our everyday lives. A solar textile named Suntex is in the making by the Dutch designer which is suitable for lightweight architectural constructions. Scroll down to read more on SURFACES REPORTER (SR).

The textile will be woven with flexible organic solar panels (organic photovoltaic solar cells) that are made from polymer with recycled polymer yarns.

Van Dongen recently unveiled her idea to reupholster our built environment with the help of a solar-energy-generating textile. In close collaboration with manufacturer Tentech, she is developing Suntex which aims to combine the tactility and design freedom of a textile with the energy-generating potential of solar technology.

The textile will be woven with flexible organic solar panels (organic photovoltaic solar cells) that are made from polymer with recycled polymer yarns sourced from fabric producer Morssinkhof Sustainable Products. Its circuitry will also offer aesthetically pleasing looks for the solar technology through its subtly mesmerizing colours, patterns and textures. Suntex is expected to generate possibilities in the creation of large tents, textile structures such as curtains, parasols and swimming pool covers, and facades that harvest solar energy alongside providing sun shading.

The solar textile is reportedly durable and water-resistant and has the potential of turning an entire building into a solar energy generator by acting as a cladding.

The solar textile is reportedly durable and water-resistant and has the potential of turning an entire building into a solar energy generator by acting as a cladding. According to Van Dongen, the entire façade can be dressed in this fabric. She introduced the new material at The Solar Seminar, Rotterdam as a part of The Solar Biennale. Suntex reportedly requires less embodied carbon to manufacture as compared to other building materials that are there in the market. Its lightweight plays a crucial role in making it have a lower carbon footprint.

Image credits: Pauline van Dongen

×

Post Your Comment


"Content that powers your Business. News that keeps you informed."

Surfaces Reporter is one of India's leading media in Print & Digital Telecast for News on Interiors & Architecture Projects, Products, Building Materials, and the Business of Design! Since 2011, it serves as a referral for designers & architects to know about inspiring projects and source new products. If you have a Product or Project worth publishing in Surfaces Reporter, please email us hello@surfacesreporter.com or you can also submit your project online.

Like Surfaces Reporter on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter and Instagram | Subscribe to our magazine | Sign Up for the FREE Surfaces Reporter Magazine Newsletter

£2.5 Million Shredded Currency Transformed into Sculptural Benches at London Design Festival

Conceived as a collaboration between designer Saskia Boersma, Surface Matter and the material studio Plasticiet, the project transforms £2.5 million worth of withdrawn British banknotes into a series of sculptural benches.

Read more

Arazzo Luxury Kitchens by Asian Paints Beautiful Homes - launches at EDGE Studio Ahmedabad - SURFACES REPORTER

Asian Paints’ Beautiful Homes unveiled Arazzo Kitchens with a first-of-its-kind experience centre at EDGE Studio, Ahmedabad — a move that brings the company’s curated luxury-home retail vision closer to designers, architects and high-end homeowners in Gujarat.

Read more

This Kochi Anganwadi Elevates Public Design with Concrete and Creativity within Tight Space

Rather than resisting the limitations of the plot, the architects allowed the form to respond organically by folding and curving to integrate existing trees, the narrow street edge and shaded outdoor areas.

Read more

Step Inside this Cave-Like Cafe Inspired by Earth, Light and Time | Mocha Cafe by Loop Design Studio

Spread across 7,000sqft in Pune, the cafe draws inspiration from the raw majesty of ancient quarries and the sculpted cave dwellings reminiscent of the dwarves of Moria.

Read more


This is alt