Designer Marjan van Aubel Talks About Her Work, Design In Times Of Pandemic And More

Known for her work in sustainable design, the designer shares her thoughts on challenges in the field, the impact of the pandemic, and more.

Netherlands-based award-winning designer Marjan van Aubel, known for her innovative design of products incorporating solar technology, talks about her inspiration, challenges in the field, and more.

Current table, Sunne, Current Window, all your products are truly exceptional, good for the planet and can be used for one’s everyday life. What is your inspiration behind designing using photovoltaic technology?

The sun is all around us almost everywhere on our planet, so why not use what we have in abundance and turn it into something useful that can bring us a step closer towards a more sustainable future. We mostly know solar from these blue squares on rooftops; I always wondered why there aren’t more well-designed objects that integrate solar in a beautiful way. So I wanted to change this view on solar energy and turn it into something beautiful, something that people would want to have in their daily lives. I think it would be great if in the future we would say that a house is broken if it can’t provide its own energy.

Sustainability is a big part of your projects. Could you tell us about any challenges that you might have faced in designing, or production?

Every project always starts as a challenge. We have to look at which material to use, how to produce locally and as efficiently as possible, without generating waste. We don’t use plug and play technologies so it takes a lot of research and experimenting and we have to see what’s available on the market. Not to forget convincing manufacturers to go on a journey with us to find out new techniques and ways to also make it affordable. There is a lot of research happening around how to make solar cells more efficient and applicable to different materials so we always need to stay up to date with the latest findings and developments.

“For us it’s important to show that harvesting solar energy is not only a technical process but can be beautiful and that’s what you’ll see in Dubai.”

World Expo 2020 Dubai is a wonderful platform for designers. Could you tell us a bit about your work for the Netherlands Pavilion?

We were asked to supply the Netherlands Pavilion, designed by V8 Architects with energy, which is of course an exciting project for us, especially because the pavilion is a great vision of how the future could be and look. For the Dutch Biotope that combines food, water and energy, we designed a solar-panelled roof that is made out of coloured transparent organic photovoltaics. They are made out of non-toxic materials and installed in a circular way, so they can be reused after the World Expo. For us it’s important to show that harvesting solar energy is not only a technical process but can be beautiful and that’s what you’ll see in Dubai. When you stand in the pavilion it feels like standing in a gigantic modern church with beautiful light reflections that come from the colourful solar panels on the roof. They harvest energy but also provide shade and filter the right light spectrum for the plants growing inside the pavilion.

What are some other projects that you are working on or planning for in the near future?

Our latest project is Sunne; a solar light that brings the sun into your home. It’s a self-powered ambient lamp that can be installed in the window and brightens up the home at night. We started it as a Kickstarter project to see how interested people were in an autonomous lamp that harvests its own energy and were overwhelmed by the great success. Within 48 hours we reached the funding goal. We finished the Kickstarter at more than 200% of our goal and already have many pre-orders coming in for the second version of Sunne. We are happy that the demand for Sunne and solar-powered objects is that high and are now in the middle of the production phase. It’s a starting point for a series of products that will be affordable for a wider audience and will help to raise awareness of how solar energy can be integrated beautifully into our daily lives. We are also working on a Solar Biennale to bring together people from different fields who work towards the same goal as we do – to make solar one of the leading providers of energy, replace conventional energy sources and make solar energy not an alternative but a beautiful first choice. This will take place in 2022 so keep an eye out for more!

What advice would give young designers who are keen on implementing solar power with their products?

Test and play with it because there is so much that can be done with solar. So far it’s still mainly looked at and used in a technical way but the possibilities are endless. There are designers now who research how to integrate solar technology into fabric, building materials, even paint so I think we are still standing at the beginning of what solar energy can be in the future. It’s honestly a playground for designers to add an extra value to their objects, clothes and designs. I am excited to see what the future will hold with many new solar designers.

The entire world is changing quite swiftly due to COVID. How do you think the pandemic will affect the field of design?

I think that designers are thinking more carefully about their choice of material and production. The pandemic shook us up in many ways and made us think about our lives and about how we want to live. Already before the pandemic the interest of many designers was shifting towards sustainable solutions and how to improve daily life and I think the pandemic accelerated that even more. With the travel restrictions and also shipping delays on many materials, the trend towards producing locally has become more prominent again, which is great since often we can find almost everything we need around us.