ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Solar-powered facade systems turn building envelopes into power sources

architecture-design · 2026-07-28

Solstex, in partnership with Onyx Solar, now offers building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) facade systems in 18 colors, turning the building envelope into a power source. ClearVue provides BIPV-integrated panels with customizable colors, textures, and material finishes, giving architects full design control. Onyx Solar's Photovoltaic Brise Soleil system combines solar shading with renewable energy; in SmithGroup's Virginia Tech Academic Building One, nearly 2,000 PV horizontal brise-soleils of crystalline silicon PV glass clad the heliomorphic facade. Mitrex's eFacade LITE is a pre-engineered system combining a ventilated rainscreen with BIPV featuring a built-in PowerBar for plug-and-play wiring. SolarLab offers integrated solar facade solutions with colored finishes and angled panels, as seen in Diamond Schmitt's Fanshawe College Innovation Village.

Key facts

  • Solstex partners with Onyx Solar to offer BIPV facade systems in 18 colors.
  • ClearVue panels are customizable in colors, textures, and material finishes.
  • Onyx Solar's Photovoltaic Brise Soleil combines shading with energy generation.
  • SmithGroup's Virginia Tech Academic Building One uses nearly 2,000 PV brise-soleils.
  • Mitrex eFacade LITE includes a ventilated rainscreen and plug-and-play PowerBar.
  • SolarLab provides colored finishes and angled panels for solar facades.
  • Diamond Schmitt's Fanshawe College Innovation Village features SolarLab facades.
  • All systems are building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technologies.

Entities

Institutions

  • Solstex
  • Onyx Solar
  • ClearVue
  • Mitrex
  • SolarLab
  • SmithGroup
  • Virginia Tech
  • Diamond Schmitt
  • Fanshawe College

Locations

  • Virginia
  • United States

Sources