[Masahiro Kobayashi - Solar Ark - COVER IMG] The Solar Ark stretches across the landscape like a monumental vessel, transforming photovoltaic technology into architecture and a symbol of Japan’s early solar ambitions. © Masahiro Kobayashi
[Masahiro Kobayashi - Solar Ark - IMG 1] [Masahiro Kobayashi - Solar Ark - IMG 2] [Masahiro Kobayashi - Solar Ark - IMG 3] [Masahiro Kobayashi - Solar Ark - IMG 4]

Solar Ark

LocationTokyo, Japan
StudioMasahiro Kobayashi
PhotographerMasahiro Kobayashi

Completed by SANYO Electric in Gifu, Japan, in 2001, the Solar Ark was conceived as a monument to a new century powered by renewable energy. Its 315-meter-long structure carries 5,046 photovoltaic modules and originally generated up to 630 kW. Yet its history is more complex than its futuristic form suggests: modules recovered and reworked after SANYO’s 2000 solar-panel output controversy were incorporated into the structure as a permanent reminder of the importance of quality and accountability. Suspended above the landscape like a vast vessel, the Solar Ark became both an icon of Japan’s ear