Pvilion has designed, engineered, fabricated, and installed a custom solar fabric membrane with rainwater capture located atop a heavy timber frame structure built by the La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez Community Garden in lower Manhattan. The system includes energy storage, a device charging station, AC power for lights, fans or to power speakers and amplifiers for live music events, a graphic dashboard display showing performance of the system, and 1500 Watts of solar panels.

On an average day, the solar array can produce about 7kWh. The 10’ x 20’ structure acts as a social hub for community events and shelter for gardeners and guests. With the addition of solar power, the community garden now has the ability to provide amenities for the guests and users of the garden.

Pvilion’s patented solar technology offers a flexible solution in place of regular fabric, where traditional heavy glass solar panels would not work. The fabric is uniquely integrated with thin, flexible, lightweight solar panels. It is designed to be waterproof, fire-retardant, UV-resistant, and durable enough to withstand extreme wind loads and weather conditions.

The rainwater capture system included in this project features a water diverter that channels all of the rainwater from the roof into three large cisterns allowing the water to be used when needed by the garden. The solar powered fabric roof connects to a silent, clean battery storage system providing 270 Amp hours of capacity, enough to power lighting, tools, electric bicycles, cell phones, fans, and dozens of phones and laptop computers.

The system also features a dashboard that educates visitors with a graphic display about the power being generated and consumed in real time. The on-board electronics also features BlueTooth connectivity and a WiFi interface, allowing the system to be monitored remotely, and also to capture and transmit data files to document historic performance.

Pvilion’s solar canopy offers a unique contrast to the open-air heavy timber frame structure: the lightweight solar canopy now provides shade and rain protection all while harvesting precious rainwater and energy. It’s a long-awaited complement to this beloved community garden in lower Manhattan.

Category:Green ProductsYear:2024Designers:Todd Dalland, Robert Lerner, and Kyu Kwak, Pvilion, Brooklyn, New York, USAManufacturer:La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez Community Garden, New York, New York, USA