This incredible Solar Tree by designer Ross Lovegrove was unveiled last weekend in London as part of Clerkenwell Design Week. By absorbing the sun's rays, the solar sculpture brings together LED lighting and solar panels and illuminates the surrounding St. John's Square at night. To contrast the typical greyness of the urban environment, Lovegrove brought the design he originally created in Vienna in 2007 to the streets of the UK.
The tree-inspired form consists of six leaf-style solar panels on top of 20 “stems,” as well as big lights on 10 grass-like stalks, topped with LEDs that come on automatically when it gets dark. Although the solar tree can absorb enough power to glow for three days, it can also feed energy back once connected to the grid. For those of you lucky enough to be in the capital city during this summer’s events, the solar tree will remain rooted to its spot over the course of the Olympics and the Paralympics through September 2012.
Images courtesy of Ashley Bingham