This project by Caroline Merheb won in the 2024 Agrivoltaics Student Design Competition, held as part of the 5th annual 2024 Agrivoltaics World Conference in Denver, Colorado. This design, aimed specifically at urban settings in Denver, was titled the MUUSEculture Garden, which stands for Multi Urban Use of Solar Energy Culture Garden. The design focused on (1) enhancing access to fresh food produce in low-income areas, (2) reducing surface temperatures and urban heat islands, and (3) increasing green spaces and improving the aesthetics of artificially abundant regions.
The space featured a central dome called "The UNION Dome," 56 independent units named "The Blue Sky Block," where individuals could rent or occupy a space to grow their food, similar to storage units. Additionally, it included four functional units known as "The Solar Pile," consisting of a children's park, a pet park, a marketplace for selling grown crops, and a theater for educational and engagement purposes. The design also incorporated a storage unit and multiple entrance/exit/runway paths to enhance accessibility.
For site selection, rooftops of multi-level parking structures or vacant land next to ground parking lots were deemed ideal to support the shift to electric cars. The design integrated various forms of land sharing, such as PV grass/pets, PV crops, PV viticulture, and PV pollinators. The Blue Sky Blocks utilized a mix of bifacial and semi-transparent modules to increase light transmittance, benefiting from the diffused and reflected light of highly reflective coatings of the artificial ground base. Each block's modules were connected to maximize rainwater collection, funneling water to a gutter installed at the lower side of the inclined PV and connected to a subsurface drainage system.
An innovative feature was the vertical spirals designed for growing climbing crops, which increased the growing spaces in three dimensions and reduced the gap between crops and panels, enhancing PV cooling through plants' evapotranspiration. The spirals transformed the space into a modern exquisite Roman temple, where the main structure was integrated with PV technology and naturally formed green arches.