Sports pitch turns into a giant solar panel when not in use

The Netherlands' Cablean Sportveld is a multi-surface field that can be turned into a sports pitch, an advertisement, or a solar farm at the push of a button.

Public facilities are often developed with one purpose in mind, but with a bit of innovative thinking, they can be designed to change their form in different situations. Sports venues are particularly suited to this — many stadiums are already capable of hosting multiple different events. Now the Netherlands has opened the first Cablean Sportveld, a multi-surface field that can be turned into a sports pitch, an advertisement, or a solar farm at the push of a button.

The field is based on a trilon system, in much the same way that mechanical advertisement hoardings are able to switch the message they display. The pitch consists of strips that make up the full surface, and each strip is attached to a moving 3-sided axle. The first Cablean Sportveld to be installed is now in place in Eindhoven, and serves as a synthetic grass pitch, an astro-turf sports surface, and a solar farm, although the device could also serve as a billboard.

Watch the video below (in Dutch) to see the innovation in action:

Just as the Netherlands’ Rabalder Parken skatepark doubles as a water reservoir in times of flooding thanks to its design, the Cablean Sportveld makes public space usage more efficient and even helps empty pitches generate energy while they’re not in use. Are there other public amenities that could be redesigned to ensure they’re still being useful when not in use?