Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation and head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs paid a visit to Shanghai Expo on August 12 to celebrate the Swiss National Pavilion Day as well as the 60 year anniversary of bilateral relations between Switzerland and China. One of the highlights of the festivities was the kickoff of the sales of the red solar cells in the Swiss Pavilion’s Façade. The cells were planned and designed by iart interactive ag together with Buchner Bründler architects and will be delivered to the buyers after the Shanghai Expo.

The cells use cutting-edge solar technology to produce energy and to give visual expression to the creative capacity of the sun’s rays. The electricity is discharged into light diodes that, depending on the state of charge, the time of day and the angle of the incoming light, flash in different frequencies.

Together with the other technical components, each light diode is mounted on a plate-sized circuit board and enclosed in a protective red casing. The front side of the cell conveys a view of Switzerland from the outside: in an abstract representation of its landscape, Switzerland is outlined in white behind red polycarbonate. The electronics and conductor paths visible from the same side stand for the urban part of the country: its towns and cities, their modern infrastructure and their complex interconnection. The rear side of the façade, or rather its individual units, shows a view of Switzerland from the inside. Population density in urban and rural regions is represented by graphic ring formations. Against the light, Switzerland’s outline now emerges clearly.

The red solar cell, which can be sold in the shop of the Swiss Pavilion at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai