Solland Solar - 2006
Exhibition stand for Solland Solar, Photovoltaic Conference, Dresden (D)
Maurice Mentjens was commissioned by Solland to design three exhibition stands and the new entrance hall to the factory. Solland uses innovative production techniques to develop and manufacture solar cells. The head-office is in Heerlen-Aachen, right on the border between the Netherlands and Germany.
The “Back Contact Cell” – developed in collaboration with ECN – is one of the most innovative solar cells to be produced in the Solland factory. Its unusually whimsical pattern provided the inspiration for the rear wall of the exhibition stand in Dresden, Munich and Valencia.
A mirror was fixed to the narrow wall perpendicular to the long wall so that the stand looked twice as long as it really was. A semi-luminous sphere was mounted on the mirror and the reflection made it look as if a sun was floating in the middle of the stand.
In the entrance to the new factory a life-size three dimensional sun – including rays – is mounted on the ceiling. It is attached to a circular mirror which creates an illusion that the sun is rising right there in the entrance hall. In the original design the sun did actually radiate light as the tubes and sphere were made of illuminated translucent synthetic material. The alternative version was chosen because the original would have cost much more to build.