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Design

Eternal Sunshine Could Come from Solar-Powered Palm Trees

The sun never sets under Drzach and Suchy's solar powered flora.
Images courtesy the artist

White, sandy beaches, boulevards lined with palm trees, and endless rays of sun are everyday sights in paradisiacal locales like Southern California and the Bahamas, but Swiss artists Drzach and Suchy are using eco-friendly design to bring a taste of the tropics to their chilly homeland. Musa Lampyris is an outdoor lamp prototype that marries the iconic palm tree with solar power and luminescent fabric, transforming any street in the world into the picturesque image of Sunset and Vine.

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Each "Solar Palm" has earthy green photovoltaic panels embedded on top, channelling energy from the sun into the glowing fabric that comprises each leaf. In the decidedly pale Swiss sun, each tree can last up to five hours, but the duo says that this is just the beginning. They're currently playing with brightness, panel density, new photovoltaic cells, and sunnier settings to get as much light from the futuristic fronds as possible. Given the rate at which solar panels are progressing, nights could soon be as bright as day.

Drzach and Suchy have been working on eco-friendly designs without compromising on looks for years, including a massive mural made from solar panel shadows and shadow sculptures grown from grass seeds. "Sustainable solutions can indeed be smoothly embedded in the surroundings, without compromising with regard to aesthetics or functionality," they explain to The Creators Project. They're applying this philosophy en force to Musa Lampyris, going so far as to design multiple varieties of palm for the arborist in all of us. Check out the lamps in action below:

For more projects from Drzach and Suchy, including some very impressive Lego shadow sculptures, visit their website.

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