(photos: Gunnar Hand)

The Sun Pavilion, winner of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art’s design competition in conjunction with their Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World Fairs, 1851-1939, is now open. Completed in  81 days, the pavilion is an expression of the innovation that reflects the ideals of World’s Fairs. Designed by Kansas City, Missouri based architecture firm, Generator Studio, the pavilion includes over 150 solar panels, supplied by local alternative energy firm Brightergy, that act to both power the installation and shade its three cargo container exhibition and interactive spaces. The pavilion looks as if the international space station has landed on earth, and it makes you wonder, do solar panels work when they face the ground?