There are two aspects of civic innovation that are perhaps more valuable than any other: beauty and efficiency. When combined, these two facets can also make for stellar urban art. Sistine Solar, created by two MIT Sloan School of Management students, harnesses the power of the sun to create artistic designs enjoyable to everyone.
Sistine Solar uses handheld solar panels that anyone can use to snap together in order to create public works of art. Once connected, the panels absorb sunlight and illuminate a variety of colors and patterns, each customizable depending on the combination of tiles.
As Boston enjoys its civic innovation renaissance, fueled by the likes of Sistine Solar as well as municipal department like the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, the demand for public art continues to grow. But while some may prefer traditional forms of urban art, like murals and other street art, Boston is continuing to show an affinity for cleaner, greener artistry.
“It is both a design and an engineering innovation,” Ido Salama, co-founder of Sistine Solar, told BostInno in an email.
Salama teamed up with Senthil Balasubramanian while the two were both studying at Sloan in the midst of major career changes. Salama was fresh off finance stints at CitiGroup and Yahoo!, as well as an opportunity with an Israeli cell phone manufacturer and as a product designer for Huge In.c
Prior to working with Salama, Balasubramanian spent three years helping Astonfield Renewables Inc. build one of India’s earliest solar panels under the country’s National Solar Policy.
With experience working in finance, management product design and solar energy, the tandem started hanging out after class to chat about life, career aspirations and philosophy. It was during these discussions that they both realized that each could bring successful assets to a solar-based company.
“Luckily, our passions crossed at the intersection of solar energy and design,” continued Salama. “One evening, we asked each other what would the world look like if solar were truly beautiful. And thus, Sistine Solar was born.”
Though Boston is currently experiencing significant growth in areas dedicated to innovating public spaces, only a handful of them are using the abundance of solar energy. In one hour, Salama mentioned, Earth receives enough sunlight to power the world on solar energy for an entire year. And while that sounds lucrative enough for a slew of beneficial initiatives, less than one percent of energy production is applicable to solar.
This lack of solar energy production posed something of a roadblock for Sistine Solar to truly take hold. Quite simply, if people aren’t passionate about an idea, they won’t utilize it to the fullest extent. The same holds true for solar energy-powered art.
“History tells us that to achieve such an exponential, sweeping change in mass adoption, a product needs to speak to not just people’s minds, but also their hearts,” Salama added. “It needs to capture the world’s imagination. ”
Two months ago, Sistine received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to prototype their tiles, with the help of Fraunhofer TechBridge. They’re hoping to install their works in the upcoming months.
Boston, along with New York City and Philadelphia, will play host to specific pilots before Sistine takes its art national and global. The solar panels Sistine sets up here in The Hub is expected to feature cell phone charging stations, so that viewers and passersby can enjoy solar art while juicing up their devices. Including illuminations and wi-fi aren’t out of the question, either. The ultimate goal is to combine form and function in order to make cityscapes more energy efficient and alluring to residents and visitors alike.
Sistine won’t be placing its tiles in one designated area in Boston. Rather, they’re looking to deploy them in oft-used public spaces. Street furniture, where people can sit and take in Boston’s increasingly temperate spring weather or wait for public transportation or utilize bike-shares, are the primary target as they consistently see a high volume of foot traffic.
Once Sistine’s concept catches with the public, the possibilities for similar urban art initiatives are endless. And while people may not be vocal about their desire to enjoy such works, they’ve proven that they want it.
“In a survey we conducted of municipalities, over 93 percent of the respondents expressed a strong desire to showcase their city’s commitment to sustainable technologies in a visible way,” Salama mentioned in closing. “The time for versatile, beautiful, and engaging solar is here!”
