The first edition of The Solar Biennale, an initiative of solar designers Marjan van Aubel and Pauline van Dongen, took place from September 8 to October 2022 in both Rotterdam and Eindhoven. It counterbalanced the prevailing technological and economic viewpoints on solar energy. For seven weeks, the biennale focused on the human angle: a solar-powered world that went beyond scientific research and uniform solar panels. Cultural practices and place-specific energy determine how the post-carbon future will develop. The Solar Biennale was and ís part of The Solar Movement dedicated to shifting the perspective on solar energy.
The Solar Movement is the driving force behind The Solar Biennale and will continue to look for additional ways to spread its message. We appreciate your support in shifting the perspective of solar energy into a meaningful and integrated part of everyone's livelihood.
We believe solar is the most natural and humane source of energy. It’s the answer to the smaller question (How to power our life?) and the Big one (How to live it?). As designers, those are the exact questions we pore over every day. How to rhyme the purely practical with societal issues. How to make things and make them meaningful.
The Solar Biennale at Dutch Design Week
With V8 Architects, Kameleon Solar, Marjan van Aubel Studio ánd Dutch Design Week we are proud to have made The Solar Pavilion a reality. The launch of the pavilion was the final bit of the Solar Biennale and opened during DDW 2022. The 10 x 10 'solar canopy' was imagined as a space to experience the poetic power of the sun. We envisioned this monument to be an energetic meeting place where visitors could experience the sensory nature of solar energy. For this we developed a public program which consisted of different events ranging from solar talks to radiating musical interventions.
Sun in the City
The Solar Biennale reached out to all the people of Rotterdam with its Sun in the City program. Wherever the sun was shining, together with our partners we brought the sun to Rotterdam and we asked our audiences: what your relationship do you engage in with the sun?
Solar Labs: did you become a solar designer?
Two Solar Labs focused on knowledge and innovation in solar design are were organized in September and October. The Personal Lab was dedicated to the lens 'Personal', in collaboration with New Order of Fashion and TU/e in Eindhoven; the second one focused on the theme 'Spatial', in collaboration with BlueCity in Rotterdam.