SPECTRAL - Structural solar façade

First installation of the Structural Solar Façade by SPECTRAL, a female-led Viennese start-up, on an industrial cold storage hall at Eisfabrik Wien. A lightweight steel structure with translucent PV modules is placed in front of the existing façade, turning it into a visible source of solar energy.

SPECTRAL is a female-led Viennese copmany. SPECTRAL develops modular building systems that transform façade surfaces into integrated, visible sources of solar energy. Solar energy systems should not be treated as technical add-ons to buildings but designed as part of the architecture itself.

Structural Solar Façade transforms the building envelope into an energy-generating system — a new façade typology that replaces conventional cladding while adding the capacity to generate energy, for retrofit and new building alike. A lightweight structural layer integrates translucent photovoltaic modules into a permeable façade system, producing renewable energy while maintaining daylight and spatial quality.

Eisfabrik Wien is the first installation of the system, on an industrial building in Vienna, with Montron GmbH as installation partner. The system is conceived as a secondary façade layer, installed in front of the primary building envelope with minimal intervention and reduced disruption. Each façade field combines photovoltaic modules with a lightweight, highly engineered steel support structure anchored directly to the primary structure. Organised around a vertical mast with horizontal arms, the system forms a slender, permeable layer that establishes a clear structural rhythm while minimising the number of connection points.

32 glass/glass modules (3.2+3.2 mm, 50% transparency, grey) cover a surface of 24 m², with an installed power of 1,840 Wp. According to the PVsyst simulation, the system generates around 1,350 kWh per year.

Large building surfaces hold untapped energy potential. Instead of new cladding, one investment renews the building’s appearance and generates electricity. The façade filters daylight while generating electricity, acting as a daylight-modulating screen that reduces solar radiation and heat gain. It shades the building as summers get hotter, doing the work of a separate sun protection system as part of the same investment.