CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italian gelato and frozen dessert company Sammontana developed an innovative beach umbrella named Parelio that absorbs sunlight, which is then converted into energy. The power harvested can be used to lower the temperature of the surroundings as well as to facilitate refrigeration for cold drinks and ice cream, showcasing how we can enjoy the summer through ecological technology.

In Italy, as in all the coasts of the Mediterranean, seaside tourism is one of the most popular social activities during the summer. This puts much pressure on the power grid of the region every summer. With Parelio, CRA explores a future scenario that stabilizes power supply and makes it more eco-friendly across beaches and urban spaces.

One of the design features of the project is to harvest sunlight to produce electricity to cool the space under the umbrella. In addition, it can power objects and structures as small as a mobile device and as big as a beach resort when it's scale-up. The beach umbrella opens like a work of origami as well as the solar systems on NASA spacecraft, is 2.5 meters high (8.2 feet) and occupies a diameter of 3.2 meters (10.5 feet).

Each module features an unfolding photovoltaic array – designed with Italo Rota in collaboration with world-renowned inventor Chuck Hoberman – to generate electricity for refrigeration and cooling.

The foldable photovoltaic panels on top of the umbrella absorb sunlight from the whole atmosphere and convert it into electricity, powering coolers and nebulizers underneath. In particular, it can be connected to a mini-refrigerator to keep food and drinks fresh even during the warmest hours of the day. Electric power from multiple umbrellas can be pooled together to power a large ice-cream refrigerator. The modular system is conceived to be scalable, bringing clean energy to the beachfront resort.

A demonstration of Parelio's prototype was exhibited from June 12 to August 8, 2021 at BAM Park-Tree Library Milan, a public park located in Milan, Italy. The display was part of the initiative promoted by the Riccardo Catella Foundation, which aims to promote sustainable and responsible territorial development. The installation, located in central Milan, created a lounge area that was accessible to the public free of charge. The project was showcased both in the stand-alone mode and in an aggregated form – twelve umbrellas were installed in proximity to simulate the design outcome.

The Milanese test served as the first step to evaluate how the innovation process might accelerate and potentially be introduced to Italy's 8,000 km (4,970 miles) coastline, promoting a more sustainable approach to summer leisure.

CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italian gelato and frozen dessert company Sammontana developed an innovative beach umbrella named Parelio. The device can absorb sunlight, which is then converted into energy that can be used to provide cooling and facilitate refrigeration for cold drinks and ice cream. The foldable photovoltaic array was designed with Italo Rota in collaboration with world-renowned inventor Chuck Hoberman. Hoberman, a professor at Harvard University who has spent the past four decades developing transformable structures that combine retractable coverings, joint design, and dynamic building methods.

The project is part of CRA's exploration of innovative climate responsive strategies for microclimate mitigation and improved thermal comfort.

In Italy, as in all the coasts of the Mediterranean, seaside tourism is one of the most popular social activities during the summer. This puts much pressure on the power grid of the region every summer. With Parelio, CRA explores a future scenario that stabilizes power supply and makes it more eco-friendly across beaches and urban spaces.

Parelio stems from the goal of making summer enjoyable and environmentally responsible. It makes the vacation experience more sustainable. It harvests the abundant energy produced by the sun, which is then transformed into electricity. The power can then be used to lower the temperature of the surroundings as well as to facilitate refrigeration of cold drinks and ice cream, showcasing how we can enjoy the summer through ecological technology.

Parelio is a reinterpretation of the traditional beach umbrella, incorporating a foldable canopy integrated with thin film photovoltaics. The umbrella is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) high and occupies a diameter of 3.2 meters (10.5 feet). The top of the "umbrella" is positioned upside down – it opens towards the sky – so that it allows for complete exposure of the photovoltaic layer to solar radiation during the summer period when the sun is high in the sky. The mechanism follows the principles of origami and makes it foldable. Instead of paper, photovoltaic panels are folded, inspired by those used on NASA spacecraft. Parelio is intended as a portable and foldable system providing both shade and power. The top of the umbrella absorbs sunlight, which is converted into electricity used to power the coolers and sprayers below.

In particular, when connected to a mini-refrigerator, it enables users to keep food and drinks cool even during the hottest hours of the day. In addition, the system allows the electricity from multiple aggregated umbrellas to be pooled. At that point, the combined power generated from those umbrellas can support a large ice cream refrigerator. Thanks to the modular nature of the design, it can be scaled up even further, with many umbrellas working in synergy to provide clean energy to the beach resort.

A demonstration of Parelio's prototype was exhibited from June 12 to August 8, 2021 at BAM Park-Tree Library Milan, a public park located in Milan, Italy. The display was part of the initiative promoted by the Riccardo Catella Foundation, which aims to promote sustainable and responsible territorial development. The installation, located in central Milan, created a lounge area that was accessible to the public free of charge. The project was showcased both in the stand-alone mode and in an aggregated form – twelve umbrellas were installed in proximity to simulate the design outcome.

The Milan test served as a first step in assessing how the innovation process can accelerate and potentially be brought to Italy's 8,000 km of coastline. From this demonstration, data was collected that could be the springboard for promoting a more sustainable approach to summer leisure.

Innovative devices such as Parelio are also of interest for design research because they provide important design options in alleviating heat stress in outdoor spaces in cities. A theme that is one of the greatest issues cities are facing due to global warming and urbanization. Though small-scale, if strategically located where human needs and microclimate extremes intersect, they can provide cool "'oases", giving urban inhabitants relief from heat stress and increasing the climate adaptation of a city as a whole. Due to the simplicity of the strategy they can offer extreme flexibility in terms of design and installation. Parelio is one of the facilities that can also be applicable both to new developments or established urban areas, easily scaled and rapid to implement. Therefore, they can be commonly used as a strategic microclimate mitigation device by designers and planners.