Solar panels have long been associated with rows of dark blue or black rectangles covering rooftops and solar farms but a new generation of photovoltaic technology is challenging that familiar look by turning solar panels into colourful murals, architectural features and even works of art.
The shift is being driven by advances in building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), which allow solar cells to become part of a building’s facade, roof or other architectural surfaces rather than being added as conventional panels.
Recent designs show that solar technology no longer has to be visually separate from the buildings and public spaces where it is installed.
Panels can now incorporate colours, patterns, images and artistic designs while continuing to generate electricity.
In a striking example, a residential building in Alberta, Canada, has been transformed into what is described as the world’s largest solar panel mural.
The 12-storey SunRise Building features about 34,500 square feet of photovoltaic panels integrated into its exterior. The facade carries an 85-foot-high artwork created by Indigenous artist Lance Cardinal, celebrating First Nations and Chinese cultures.
The project won a Guinness World Record for the largest solar panel mural. The idea is not limited to giant murals.
Researchers and solar designers are experimenting with coloured photovoltaic glass, printed patterns and customised surfaces that can make solar installations resemble paintings or architectural decoration.
Solar Visuals, for example, has developed technology that incorporates colours and visual designs into photovoltaic modules.
The company said its approach can be used to create energy-generating façades with customised aesthetics.
Researchers have also developed façade modules that use partially transparent coloured layers made from tiny dots. From close range, the viewer sees the pattern of the dots, but from a distance the dots combine visually to form an image.
The technology is designed to provide greater freedom to reproduce colours and designs on solar facades.
This emerging approach could help address one of the longstanding criticisms of solar energy which is aesthetics.
While the falling cost of solar power has helped accelerate adoption, some homeowners, architects and communities have been reluctant to install conventional panels because of how they alter the appearance of buildings.
The U.S. Department of Energy previously highlighted technology capable of making solar panels mimic the colour and pattern of a roof or display customised illustrations, showing how visual design could help overcome objections to conventional photovoltaic systems. The concept is also moving into public art.
The Art and Energy Collective, for instance, creates solar artworks using reclaimed panels. Its installations can incorporate etched designs, lighting and interactive elements, turning the panels into pieces that both generate electricity and engage audiences.
Other projects are taking the concept further by printing artwork directly onto photovoltaic glass. At the Nuhma headquarters in Belgium, artist Nele Bijnens’ artwork was digitally translated onto bespoke photovoltaic glass panels, combining architectural branding with renewable energy generation.
The technology is also appearing in experimental designs that resemble traditional paintings. A 2025/26 design project at Burg Halle, uses coloured acrylic layers positioned in front of solar panels to create changing visual effects while retaining the panels’ energy-generating function.
The development points to a broader change in how renewable energy infrastructure could be incorporated into cities.
Instead of hiding solar panels on rooftops or placing large arrays away from population centres, architects could make energy generation part of the visual identity of buildings, transport infrastructure and public spaces.
That could be important as cities search for ways to increase renewable-energy generation without sacrificing limited urban space.
There is, however, a trade-off. Adding colours, printed layers or other aesthetic treatments can affect how much sunlight reaches the photovoltaic cells, meaning designers must balance appearance with energy efficiency.
Research published in 2026 is examining coloured building-integrated photovoltaic modules that use optical interference pigments and moire patterns to improve aesthetics while maintaining useful light transmission.
The industry is moving beyond the question of whether solar panels can generate electricity. The emerging question is what they can look like while doing it.
From giant murals and colourful facades to interactive installations and solar sculptures, photovoltaic technology is becoming part of the visual language of architecture.
The result could be a future in which a solar installation is not something a building owner tries to hide, but a feature deliberately designed to be seen.
Solar panels, in other words, may be evolving from an energy appliance into an architectural canvas which is one that produces both electricity and art.