Search for
Most solar panels are treated as background hardware, at times hidden from sight. But designer Michael Jantzen puts them in the spotlight in the Solar Eclipse Pavilion. A design proposal for a large steel public art gathering place, the structure turns a highly utilitarian process of turning solar power into electricity into a spectacular show of light and heat variations.
The conversion takes place through a 7000 square foot array of photovoltaic solar cells mounted on the top of the structure. It distributes some of the electricity into the local power grid where it stands, and others power a large low energy consuming LED display screen mounted under the solar cell array.
The aptly-named Solar Eclipse Pavilion displays graphic color images of the sun through the LED display. These images shift, continually augmented by random light and heat variations recorded by sensors embedded in the surface of the solar cell array.
Moreover, electronic sounds play in the background as the images morph in color and shape. It’s a spectacular sight in the morning, but more so at night, with the morphing light a striking contrast against the darkness. 
Solar Eclipse Pavilion shows prerecorded images and sound at night, and in the morning the sun takes over for real-time display manipulation. Spectators can see the spectacle unfold before their eyes while seated on built-in seats shaded by the solar arrays.
Aside from the sun images and sound, the LED display can also show any other appropriate information relative to the event taking place at the pavilion. Jantzen’s design serves as a public art and communal center, where people can gather in a positive way. 

Images courtesy of Archinect/Michael Jantzen
Delivered Weekly
Architecture
Out of The Box is a 25-storey marble-clad residential tower with box-like volumes that cantilever into the landscape to form outdoor spaces.
Architecture
Birye Church stands in a small valley town surrounded by farmland with the serene Jibongsan Mountain as the backdrop.
Luxury
The total area at the 1424 & 1425 Old Sunset estate spans 53.43 acres with a massive 13,004-square-foot interior.
Architecture
Tetra-One used digitally-fabricate CLT panels that reduce carbon footprint and maximize structural efficiency, and wildfire resiliency.
Architecture
The Slim Fit house offers three stories of living space with the kitchen and dining below, living room middle, and bed and bath at the top.
Architecture
If not for the illuminated interior, the black-stained timber exterior of the Smoke Lake Cabin camouflages with its surroundings.
© 2026 Men’s Gear LTD
Website by FHOKE
Men’s Gear LTD is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. For more information read our affiliate disclosure. Men’s Gear LTD is a registered company in England and Wales No: 13556978

source