Federal Realty Adds 2 'Smartflowers' to Public Art Installations at Boston-Area Assembly Row Project
The two units blend the look of large sculptural flowers while providing for the creation and storage of about 4,000-to-6,200 kilowatt-hours per year of solar energy.
Federal Realty Investment Trust has installed two Smartflowers solar systems at its Assembly Row development in Somerville, Massachusetts.
The two units blend the look of large sculptural flowers while providing for the creation and storage of about 4,000-to-6,200 kilowatt-hours per year of solar energy. The two Smartflowers at Assembly Row were installed alongside other public art including “Bloom”, a series of interactive sculptures placed at the property in partnership with Boston-based Artists For Humanity.
“As we continuously look to increase sustainability and add innovation at Assembly Row, this partnership with SmartFlower Solar was a terrific opportunity,” said Assembly Row General Manager David Middleton. “The electricity generated by the installation will help offset the electricity we use in lighting our other public art.”
Assembly Row, which keeps with Federal Realty’s focus on retail-based projects, is located along the Interstate-93 corrido and has direct access to downtown Boston along the MBTA’s Orange Line along with its own dedicated station, Phase I and II of the project are currently complete, giving Assembly Row, which sits along the Mystic River, 830,000 square feet of office space, 1,000 residential units, 500,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, and entertainment space. When fully built out, the 40 acre neighborhood is set to have a total of 635,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 2 million square feet of office space, and 1,800 residential units.
Smartflower has previously partnered with Adidas, Siemens, Carlsberg, and Mohawk Group and installed thousands of its sculptural solar power units, which track the movements of the sun, across the word.
“The installation of the Smartflower solar systems at Assembly Row represents the blending of superior performance and artful design with Federal Realty’s important sustainability and community engagement initiatives,” said Jim Gordon, CEO of SmartFlower Solar, “Watching the Smartflowers track the sun educates and inspires visitors and occupants toward a better energy and environmental future,” he said.