Light and Air

2016 • Internship project • Rio de Janeiro

During my time in Rio de Janeiro I was involved in a project to find
a solution for the lack of energy supply available in favelas.

Concept

LU consists of two lenses, the upper lens is built to collect as much sunlight as possible, the lower lens works as a diffuser for the light. Using a small solar panel, a battery is charged during the day, and a LED light built in the system can be activated to provide light during the night. Another important part of the system is the ventilator, that rotates due to pressure compensation and to circulate air.

My responsibilities in this project included designing each of the parts - with the exception of the lenses, the construction, and the manufacturing strategy. In order to reduce costs, I had to figure out how to build it with mostly simple metal forming parts, as opposed to injection molds.