CLAUDIO SANTINI ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHER

I'm flying by helicopter over the city of Los Angeles. Watching a city from the slow speed at low altitude offers a different perspective, especially if you scrutinize the roofs of buildings and homes.  In California  on the top of these buildings, we see the highest concentration of installed photovoltaic panels on the planet because of its sunny climate. And not just for this. It is because the leading manufacturers of this technology are in this area.
The latest installation of photovoltaic systems, besides being much more efficient than a few decades ago, have the interesting characteristic of being well integrated into the architectures that receive them. This feature goes under the abbreviation of BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic) which defines a specific design and target. Another reason why this technology is developing so prominently is because of the incentives that U.S. electric companies (DWP, Edison) offer to their customers, in the form of bonuses, that allow savings of up to 50% of the initial cost of installation.  In antiquity there were impressive temples erected to the Sun God as spontaneous expression of worship and devotion to this form of vital energy. Today, modern man's attitude toward this natural force is significantly
 changed. We become less dogmatic, more pragmatic and trusting of science.
 The creativity of the designers of these buildings and homes has changed as well since ancient times. New materials are available. A more advanced knowledge of construction techniques and design have made possible the creation of new architectural forms. Entire surfaces of facades and flat roofs of buildings are now completely covered with the brilliant texture of solar cells. Canopies and shelters perform the dual function of creating shade and catch the sun rays through solar panels installed on top.

Like an ancient dance, in honor of the Sun God, these contemporary and futuristic architecture stand like needles facing the sky and telling of the modern reliance on this new system of energy supply. In this admission of astral need, the new creed could easily be stating: "Thank you God for the Sun."

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