'Solar Tree' to light up Clerkenwell Design Week

A ‘Solar Tree’ designed by Ross Lovegrove and manufactured by Artimide will be lighting up St John’s Square in London during Clerkenwell Design Week (22-24 May).

The six-metre high tree will gather solar energy through photovoltaic cells in the ten ‘heads’ of the organic structure and then store it in batteries integrated into the base. Four of the ten ‘heads’ and additional ten ‘blades of grass’ will then light up the evening street with LEDs from dusk to dawn.

Industrial designer Lovegrove believes that street furniture like this could be used to meet society’s demands for a public energy source to tap into – from chargers for mobile phones and laptops to plug-ins to power cars.

Artimide said the Solar Tree, which costs more than £90,000, began as a research piece but is now in series production.

This article was amended on 11 April at 14:00.

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