This might sound quite futuristic or imaginative, but it’s the present and there is a real transformative process in her projects, which are mostly inspired by sustainability and nature. We can see, for example, organic designs that technologically simulate the photosynthesis in plants, adding a double function to the objects: whether you are drinking from your glass or having a rest in a table, they’re absorbing energy from the light that surrounds them.

The Dutch inventor seems to reflect on the way we interact with objects, obtaining the answers from the minimalistic and simple functions of nature. Thanks to this approach, her conception of the power of the sun together with Design is making us rethink our relationship with energy and the aesthetics we find around. “Solar cells no longer have to function as an add-on technology, where we only focus on efficiency and cost, but can be a beautiful, natural part of our surrounding”, she explains.

She has exhibited at world-class institutions such as the V&A (London), the Design Museum (London) and the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam). Her work is also part of the permanent collection at the MoMA in New York, the Vitra Design Museum, Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, The Montreal Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia. Marjan came to Madrid for the first time to give a masterclass at IED, where amazed by the solar energy of the city, we could talk about the possibilities of energetic efficiency through intelligent design.