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SOL Smart Bench ©
2022 | Financed and supported by Vodafone Albania
SOL Smart Bench
Started as a graduation project in cooperation and with the approval of the Parks and Recreations Agency of the municipality of Tirana, Sol has become my first patented design and the work I am most proud of.
Designated to be placed in the largest public park of the city of Tirana, Sol is a 100% modular smart bench fully powered by solar energy. It is built on the fundamentals of renewable energy for one of the sunniest countries in the Mediterranean. These values of renewable energy and sustainability are the pinnacles which this project is built on and the same values it is trying to promote and raise awareness about,
in addition to having its core functions.
Aside to its unique design and product type for the city, Sol serves as a lighting system and a shelter. The bench requires no infrastructural change, to preserve the nature of the park, and is easily mountable and functional anywhere. It also offers the users phone charging docks, wireless internet and an infotainment lightbox or screen for different ecological campaigns of the municipality and its sponsors.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL MANUFACTURING VIDEO
Render | SOL Smart Bench
100% Solar energy
Innovative LED
Lighting
Free Wi-Fi Internet
Infotainment lightbox/screen
Smartphone charging docks
Fully modular with no environment change or damage
Disconnected from the grid; supported by battery power
Render | SOL Smart Bench
THE MAKING...
Regardless of the fact that it all began as a graduation project, it was clear from a very early stage that there was a vision to bring the product to life. With the support of my family, after graduation I decided to go through with the building of this single prototype, designated to be placed in the dam area of the Great Lake Park of Tirana. This journey gave me the opportunity to fully manage and have a hand-in approach into building SOL as the product it was designed to be.
This project was manufactured and produced for almost 6 months and it has given me plenty of experience in the field of manufacturing, mechanical processes, materials etc; and problem solving regarding technical and feasible aspects of industrial design engineering. Apart from the technical challenges, I also had the opportunity to work on the negotiations, sponsoring and financing of this project. In the end I was proud to reach an agreement with Vodafone Albania for the full financing whom I want to thank for the support. As of now the bench is placed on its dedicated place and it is finally available to the citizens of Tirana.
Being a pilot project that aims to promote such initiatives for urban areas but also other contexts, dependent to the feedback it receives, hopefully, Sol will be implemented at a greater scale and may also pave way for projects of the same nature.
Render | SOL Smart Bench
Top Roof and Lighting during production | SOL Smart Bench
Construction phase image | SOL Smart Bench
Bench, column and planks during production | SOL Smart Bench
Construction phase image | SOL Smart Bench
Painting, branding and finalization
After finally reaching a solution with all the parties concerned regarding the sponsoring, the bench was to be painted, branded and then placed in its designated place. Here I had to manage all the logistics of how the process went and managed to finally finish the project and deliver the expected results.
As of now, the bench is placed at the beginning of the dam pedestrian avenue of the Great Lake Park and it is fully functional. After hard work and persistence, I finally managed to put the design to life and leave my mark in the city I was born and raised. Thank you to every person who gave their contribution in the making of Sol.
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