The adaptive solar façade of the startup Zurich Soft Robotics combines photovoltaics and dynamic solar shading

Thin and small photovoltaics panels are mounted on actuators, that sit on a metal support net. The actuators can be individually moved by compressed air, working like air muscles. “The motors are lightweight, silent and can withstand wind and other forces”, Svetozarevic says. The actuators are low maintenance and have a life expectancy of 25 years, which is similar to the photovoltaic panels. The motors have two axes of freedom of movement. This allows the panels to follow the sun during the day and increase the yield by up to 40% compared to the same area of a static panel. 

Solar energy is just one aspect of the design, that combines several advantages. The panels also work as a dynamic shading system to cover the glass façade and reduce solar heat gains. “Shadovoltaics”, Vesna Kosorić, Head of Architecture, calls the approach. The Solskin is designed so that panels cover 55% of the area – to reduce mutual shading of the panels and to allow for transparency.

Since the panels can be moved into a horizontal position, they can be installed in front of windows and people can still see outside. Software automatically adjusts the adaptive solar façade with the help of artificial intelligence and self-learning algorithms to maximize solar yield, heat reduction and daylight. The adaptive system is more expensive than standard photovoltaics panels. “Besides other benefits, depending on project details, orientation, Solskin surface and so on, it can reduce the demand for cooling and heating of the space behind it by up to 80%, helping to save operating costs”, Kosorić says.

Zurich Soft Robotics collaborates with local installation partners and façade consultants. The company employs ten people, plus external advisers. “Currently we are finishing the next round of funding with a goal of three million Swiss francs”, Svetozarevic says. The startup was supported by a Swiss Business Angel, the Swiss Climate Foundation, and has received an Innosuisse grant and several prizes. In 2023, Zurich Soft Robotics was awarded the external page Watt d’Or by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. In 2024, it was honored with a external page Red Dot Design Award. The technology is patented in the EU, the Solskin name internationally protected. 

The technology was first applied in two research buildings. The first fully functional prototype was installed at the HiLo unit in the Nest building of Empa in Dübendorf in 2021. Starting in June 2024, the Solskin team monitored and tested the system at the Zero Carbon Building Systems Lab at ETH Zurich, thus serving as the final testing and preparation for the first large-scale project. Solskin team together with ETH Zurich researchers will perform user tests and surveys to see how people respond to the technology. In November 2024, the startup finished the first application for a private client, retrofitting a house in the Alps with the Solskin system at the facade.

For the project of a new building for the company KELLER Druckmesstechnik AG in Winterthur, Zurich Soft Robotics is working on its first big scale project that is currently under construction. Together with Strut Architects the company is outfitting the 88-meter-long façade of a new office- and production building with Solskin units, covering 1’300 square meters with 3’488 panels. They are mounted on prefabricated elements, that measure three and half by eight meters. The mockup of one Solskin unit has been tested on site. In 2025, the Solskin units will be produced and installed. 

For the Campo area in Oberwinterthur, the Solskin system was used in another project with which Studio Burkhardt, Lucas Michael Architektur and EDER Landschaftsarchitekten won a competition. The goal of Solskin is to give architects more freedom when designing. The system can be integrated with other elements such as railings, and it can be adjusted to different façade shapes and sizes: for example for glass façades of commercial and institutional buildings, above skylights and atriums as solar shading system or in pergolas on rooftops or in gardens.

The system can be combined with various solar panels that are available on the market. Architects can choose the colors of the panels and of their backside. Since each actuator can be controlled individually, even media façades are possible that display text or ornaments by moving the panels, Vesna Kosorić explains. “We hope that soon we will see beautiful Solskin integrations on various buildings in Switzerland and abroad.”