Roll up the sun

The future of our planet and its inhabitants is highly dependent on how we deal with climate change. With global urbanization progressing so fast, the city infrastructure takes up more and more land area. The majority of the surfaces in our built environment are paved. Streets, squares and sidewalks absorb heat, causing temperatures in our cities to rise.

Studies have shown that pavement warming is one of the main contributors to urban heat island effect. Although we are unable to replace the paved surfaces all at once, we sure can take advantage of the heat the sun provides and use it as solar energy.

Our proposal aims to transform rather unremarkable areas between the buildings and at the same time collect solar energy by using PCM – Phase Change Material. PCM is a substance that has the ability to absorb and release heat. We designed a textile material filled with powdered PCM particles. The colorful fabric can act as a picnic blanket or a yoga mat – it is simply a soft material that can be used to cover paved surfaces. By implementing the fabric in public spaces, we hope to revitalize the areas while preventing the paved surfaces from heating up. The fabric can be rolled out on the paved surface during the warmer days. Once the material absorbs heat it is rolled around the solar energy collector and the obtained energy is stored for emergency situations.