Solar

Staged in four sections, a continuous plinth of diagonally stacked recycled bricks, with 95% less embodied carbon than traditional bricks, provides plinth display space for objects. Natural linen fabric on the walls offers a neutral backdrop for displaying drawings. Each researcher’s section is marked with a graphic totem and an indentation in the plinth, emphasising the design's exploration of solar, shade, and shadow. Complementing the bold plinth, natural linen fabric lines the walls, offering neutral space for drawings and framed works. Reacting against a tendency to design temporary exhibitions as though they are permanent architectures, YAA Projects’ design celebrates temporality and impermanence, emphasising an approach to sustainability and regenerative design. The design's elemental language focuses on disassembly and reuse. Instead of bonding the bricks, they are stacked to be easily disassembled. The robust, freestanding black timber plinths are designed for reuse in future displays. Following this ethos of circularity, all design elements have been reused. The kenoteq bricks, which were ‘on loan’ for the project's duration, returned to the supplier and will be reused in other projects. The plywood sheets – are sized to ensure ease of reuse; celcon blocks and timber from the studwall construction and the natural linen will all be reused in other projects. The Xanita board used for graphic elements was donated to students to architecture students for model-making material. YAA Projects’ exhibition design aligns with the Design Museum’s commitment to sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of temporary displays. Ultimately, the design explores solar as an environmental and material condition while raising questions about the role of impermanence and reuse in sustainable regenerative design.