An urban experiment is placed at the heart of Malasaña neighbourhood in Madrid. Three small urban devices that constitute three new urban fittings for Jardines del Arquitecto Ribera public square: an open classroom, an open stage and an info-point able to store energy and to endow the whole assembly with a maximum of 2KW/h for daily consumption by those using the installations. Additionally, a Twitter Machine @plaza_tribunal that controls certain interactions such as the possibility to switch the colour of the artificial lighting at the square, the possibility to make selfies using a webcam or to leave messages to be displayed on an LED screen.

The main idea of the project is to experiment around how this energy self-sufficiency becomes a trigger for activation, promotion and co-management (liberalization) of citizen activities in public spaces. The devices accumulating solar energy in their storage systems (solar panels) are not only designed for individual use of mobile phone or computer load but rather to exploit new collective uses such as summer cinema screenings, small concerts on the stage device, or as an energetic support for a storyteller in the tiered seating of the open classroom. Energy self-sufficiency thus enables a conquest of public space by citizen initiatives, hitherto excluded, with free use of energy in the area of the street and the square.
This results in a new urban pedagogy that brings people closer to a responsible and shared energy consumption, due to the finite character of the accumulated of solar energy.