Onyx designs the photovoltaic roof and façade for Rintala’s Cabinet House located in the MAXXI musseum in Rome

Onyx Solar has designed and developed the photovoltaic roof and façade for the Cabinet House installed in the MAXXI museum, the last work of Zaha Hadid. The Cabinet House is an ecological prototype based on a new division of the space following the urban contemporary lifestyle: less squares meters and most of them for social life.

Firstly using wood, secondly by minimizing space and thus the construction materials being used, and lastly by adding the possibility of collecting rain water and sun energy in such a way that the architects are offering a more sustainable model  than the short-sighted, monotonous production of the building market today.

Cabinet House with photovoltaic façade and roof from Onyx Solar

The project is located in a public yard in front of the MAXXI museum and it’s aimed to become a mediator between this iconic building and the reality surrounding it, offering the visitors a peaceful place to stop by in the middle of Rome.

Cardenal Herrera’s Solar House, With a Ventilated Façade Developed by Onyx Solar, Obtains the First Prize for Market Feasability

Onyx Solar PV Ventilated Façade for the SML House

The Solar House built by the Cardenal Herrera University, in which Onyx Solar participated designing and executing a photovoltaic ventilated façade, obtained the first prize for Market Feasability during the Solar Decathlon  Europe held in Madrid last week. What’s more, the SML House was the most voted project among the 190.000 visitors who went to the “Solar Villa” to observe the last tendencies on sustainable architecture.

The Spanish Prince visiting SML House with Onyx façade

These two recognitions show that Onyx Solar constructive solutions are not only aesthetically attractive but also feasable from an economic point of view. The prize is maybe the most important as it’s the objective of the competition to test new measures that can be after applied in real life by architects in their projects on a daily basis. Thus, it’s demonstrated that the PV ventilated façade has great potential from the supply side (economical feasibility) as well as the demand side (the most voted house among visitors). Also, the SML House was the only project from a Spanish University visited by the Spanish Prince, as seen in the image above.

Finally, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University was the winner. It wasn’t a surprise as they have been working on the house for the last five years and they finally got a recognition for their work after not winning any of the previous four editions. The Cardenal Herrera University finalized first among Spanish institutions.

The First Private-Public Genomic Center in Spain Will Avoid the Emission of Tons of C02 Thanks to the Onyx Solar Ventilated Photovoltaic Façade

Onyx Solar Ventilated Photovoltaic Façade

Onyx Solar has designed and developed the ventilated photovoltaic façade for the Pfizer-University of Granada-Junta de Andalucía Center for Genomic and Oncologic Research (GENyO in Spanish). The façade combines three different types of glasses: two white, conventional serigraphic glass and a third one 2,5 x 1 meters photovoltaic glass, specially customized for this project. Thus, the PV technology is integrated in an aesthetic manner replacing conventional materials such as glass, ceramic or stones with a great final result.

GENyO is the first genomic research center integrating the Public Administration, the University and biotecnological and pharmaceutical sector, leading to a basic and applied research focused on the development of new products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases linked to human genetic variability such as cancer, diabetes or hypertension, among others.

With the integration of the Ventilated Photovoltaic Façade, the building will generate almost all the energy needed for its operation while avoiding the emission 21 tons of CO₂ a year, leading to a cost-effectiveness from the savings in the electricity bills. At the same time, the energy pay-back (the length of time that a solar glass will take to produce the same amount of electricity that was used to make it) will be of only two and a half year showing the sustainability of this constructive solutions.

Corporate Brochure: BIPV Bureau

We are about to launch a promotional campaign among some of the best architects in the World that had asked for samples of our products. That’s why we have designed a corporate brochure about our company in order to widen the information available on our webpage, and we are now publishing it even before the architects get it. We recommend to use the “Full page” option and, of course, we are looking forward to hearing your comments and suggestions.