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08/28/2019 | Campus-Meldung

Solar sun sail awarded in design competition

More than 1,500 participants from all over the world competed for a prize in the international design competition "beyond bauhaus - prototyping the future". One of the 20 prize winners was a project from the University of Kassel: the "Solar Spline", a solar sail that can be used to generate energy at the same time, was honored as one of the outstanding projects that provides a design response to an important question about the future.

Image: Bernd Brundert / Germany - Land of Ideas
from left: Ute E. Weiland (Managing Director "Germany - Land of Ideas"), Dr. Timo Carl (Institute of Architecture, University of Kassel), Prof. Frank Stepper (Institute of Architecture, University of Kassel), Irmgard Maria Fellner (Commissioner for Foreign Cultural Policy and Deputy Head of the Department of Culture and Communication at the Federal Foreign Office)

 "We are very pleased to have been selected as an award winner by such a prestigious jury," says Dr. Timo Carl from the Department of Experimental Design and Construction (EEK) at Kassel University. He submitted the project together with Prof. Frank Stepper, head of the EEK department, and Dr. Markus Schein, head of the Study Workshop for Digital Design and Manufacturing Methods at the Kunsthochschule Kassel.

"The  Bauhaus idea  is alive!  The  show  the  winners  of our  competition  in  impressive way. Designers everywhere are working to make the world fairer, more sustainable or simply better with their concepts," says Ute Weiland, managing director of the "Germany - Land of Ideas" initiative, which was the organizer of the competition.

The "Solar Spline" system consists of 300 printed organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules integrated into what appears to be a free-floating ultralight structure. The resulting solar cloud is supported by a spatial cable structure and attached via anchor points. "The Solar Spline thus combines active, solar energy generation with passive shading in an aesthetically pleasing way," says Dr. Timo Carl. The solar sun sail has already been shown, among other things, as part of the last documenta 14 in Kassel and was awarded the Blue Compass prize by the Federal Environment Agency in 2018.

In addition to the "Solar Spline," other innovative design ideas were honored as part of the competition - the award-winning projects include the following

  • a power generator that converts heat into electricity, providing power and light to people in remote areas
  • a portable haptic navigation device that guides the visually impaired on the right path
  • a new type of concrete that is enriched with old tire rubber and fly ash to provide a sustainable and cost-effective alternative for construction, in addition to helping to make buildings earthquake-resistant

The awards were presented at an event in Berlin in mid-August. The award winners will be on display there at the "CLB Berlin" gallery on Moritzplatz until September 01.

 

Contact:

Dr.-Ing., M.Arch.(UCLA) Timo Carl
eek - Experimental Design and Construction
University of Kassel - ASL (Architecture, Urban Planning, Landscape Planning)

Gottschalkstr. 24, R.0111
34127 Kassel, Germany

Tel. +49 (561) 804 7177

Mail. t.carl@asl.uni-kassel.de