French industrial designer Mathieu Lehanneur has conceived Clover, an urban furniture collection, for relaxing and recharging. Clover are ‘trees’ who mix energy, functions and materials, combining lamps and seating with wood and solar panels.
At the top, fixed large aluminum domes distribute light by their LED exclusively directed downward to keep maximum light pollution of cities and energy loss. Another dome, faced upwards, is provided with solar panels that allow 3-hour-autonomy from solar energy. A small hatch at hand will give access to a self-service charge for smartphones.
Finally, thought to multiple settings and configurations, Clover elements adapt themselves in height and length to spaces that host them — the bench can reach over 15 meters long as necessary. “I always dreamed of a long bench as a landscape … at the landscape scale,” explains Mathieu Lehanneur.
Always looking for the most appropriate answer to the challenges and changes of the world, Mathieu Lehanneur shows again its ability to combine nature and technology, towards an ecology that is both innovative and human.
This project was installed on the occasion of COP21 – United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris, 2015. This project was initiated and sponsored by the Poitou-Charentes french region under the leadership of its President Ségolène Royal (currently France Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy). The topic of whether the Paris Agreement is working or not has been controversial, and there’s many articles you can consult on the subject if you’re interested.
all images by Felipe Ribon and Michel Giesbrecht | courtesy of Mathieu Lehanneur