Introduction

Marou Village, Yasawa Islands, Fiji — The Village of Marou, in partnership with the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI), proudly announces the winners of the LAGI 2025 Fiji design competition. These two visionary landscape artworks are designed to generate clean energy and water while reflecting the hopes of Marou residents for a future grounded in environmental stewardship and cultural identity.

LAGI 2025 Transforms Fiji’s Marou Village Through Design

The global competition invited designers from around the world to respond to the context and challenges of this remote South Pacific village. From 205 submissions representing 45 countries, two proposals were selected by a local and international jury for their ability to listen to the land, climate, and community.

“We never imagined that people from across the world would be designing with us in this way,” said Ilisari Naqau Nasau, Acting Chief (Sau Turaga) of Marou. “On behalf of myself, the elders, and the entire community of Marou, I wish to extend our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to all of the designers who participated in the LAGI 2025 Fiji competition. These solutions for energy and water systems will not only benefit us today but will also support our future—and the futures of our children and grandchildren.”

Drau, by Mateusz Góra and Agata Gryszkiewicz (Poland), incorporates solar photovoltaic, battery storage, and rainwater harvesting to produce 160 MWh of electricity and 1.245 million liters of water each year (40-module configuration). A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Land Sails by Karen Curtiss, Henry Gao, Anika Chakravarti, Lisa M. Farmen, Camille Peignet, and Mark Myers (United States) incorporates CIGS thin-film solar photovoltaic, aquifer recharge, stormwater wetland system, and decentralized water treatment to produce 134 MWh of electricity and store 8.8 million liters of managed rainfall each year in a wetland zone with a three-stage water treatment for human consumption. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Sky Letters: Letters to the Invisible by Dai Fen Zeng and Pengyan Wu (United States) incorporates solar photovoltaic, rainwater harvesting, and lithium-ion battery storage to produce 268 MWh of electricity and 1,196,800 liters rainwater each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Solar Leaf by Iman Sheikhansari (Iran) incorporates solar photovoltaic, battery storage, and rainwater harvesting to produce 120 MWh of electricity and 600,000 liters of filtered each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Solar Pavilion for the Community by Soma Urbán, Tas Szabó, Csongor Csepregi, and Zóra Vida (Hungary) incorporates solar photovoltaic with rope-adjusted panel tilt and rainwater harvesting to produce 120 MWh of electricity and 600,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Solar Waves by Antonio Maccà (Italy) incorporates solar photovoltaic and rainwater harvesting to produce 120 MWh of electricity and 300,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
The O — a winning submission by Alberto Roncelli (Denmark) — incorporates solar photovoltaic and rainwater harvesting to produce 150 MWh of electricity and 1.2 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Vale ni Wai Siga by Mohamad Rahimizadeh, Fatemeh Rezaei, and Mohammad Reza Ghasemi (United Arab Emirates) incorporates solar photovoltaic, fog and rainwater harvesting, coconut and algae-based biofiltration, and micro-hydro turbines to produce 135 MWh of electricity and 1.5 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Between the Sky & Earth, by Yi Yang Chai and Ng Yi Ming (Malaysia), incorporates bifacial solar photovoltaic, battery storage, rainwater harvesting, and constructed wetlands to produce 372 MWh of electricity and 6.5 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Meke na Mana by Valentina Valero Camargo, Ricardo Andrés Ibañez, Valentina Gonzales Moreno, Mario Fernando Ovalle, Juan Mauricio Rodríguez Rivera, Magda Sofía Jiménez Baquero, and Diego Alejandro Puentes Aguilera (Colombia) incorporates solar photovoltaic and rainwater harvesting with biofiltration to produce 120 MWh of electricity and 16,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
SigaWai Canopy Park by Jie Zhao, I-Shan Tam, Yan (Jennifer) Zeng, and Liang Ma (United States) incorporates solar photovoltaic, hybrid battery and ice storage, rainwater harvesting, and wetland filtration to produce 135 MWh electricity and one million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Solar Forest by Daniel Cueto Mondéjar (Belgium) incorporates solar photovoltaic semi-transparent panels (similar to Lumos) and rainwater-harvesting to produce 120 MWh of electricity and 450,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Tagi Lagi by Luisa Fernanda Ramirez Forero, Andres Ibañez, Diana Sofia Liñan Ariza, Juan Manuel Perez Alaix, Daniel Steven Portillo Hernandez, Luisa Olaya Lopez (Colombia) incorporates flexible solar photovoltaic modules, battery storage, and rainwater collection to produce 123 MWh electricity and 4,500 liters per module (estimated 202,500 liters for 45 modules) each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Tali-Tali-Land by Boon Hau Lim and Pyaezone Aungsoe (Japan) incorporates modular solar photovoltaic with battery storage and rainwater harvesting to produce 150 MWh of electricity and 1,225,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Tanoa: The Bowl of Life by Puya Khalili, Iman Khalili, and Abdolaziz Khalili (Canada) incorporates solar photovoltaic, battery storage and integrated rainwater harvesting and filtration to produce 135 MWh of electricity and 732,500 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Unleashing the Vanua by Jisoo Kim, Seung Hyo Chang, and Jisoo Kim (United States) incorporates solar photovoltaic, constructed wetlands, and stormwater harvesting with modular UV purification system to produce 130 MWh of electricity and 1.2 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Vaka ni Lomani by Kaixi Yang, Victor Pineda Torres, and Nicc Moeono-Alaiasa (United States, Mexico, and Samoa) incorporates solar photovoltaic, battery storage, rainwater harvesting, biofiltration, and micro hydro to produce 126 MWh of electricity and 600,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Vanilla Energy by Eszter Kardos, Kovács Lőrinc (Hungary) incorporates solar photovoltaic, lithium battery storage, rainwater harvesting, UV and SODIS water purification, and vertical vanilla farming to produce 120 MWh of electricity, one million liters of filtered water, and 1,000 kilograms of green vanilla beans each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Vanua Sun-Well by Evan Shieh, Anthony Baio, Lily Kljyan, Elise Park, Kendal Eastwood, Dongsei Kim, and Clarke Snell (United States) incorporates solar photovoltaic, battery storage, rainwater harvesting, and UV water purification to produce 183 MWh of electricity and 1.5 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Vatu Rua Kaukauwa by Jonathan Hernandez and Felipe Romero Vargas (Germany) incorporates solar photovoltaic, vertical-axis wind turbines, modular battery storage, and rainwater harvesting with advanced filtration to produce 224 MWh of electricity and 564,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Voivoi Future by Tu Lan, Ruiqi Zhang, Alex Xingyu He, and Michele Chen (United States) incorporates solar photovoltaic canopies, fog harvesting nets, and rainwater catchment areas to produce 372 MWh of electricity and 6.5 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Vunilagi by Stephen Burton, Felipe Crisostomo, and Nicholas Stevens (Australia) incorporates solar photovoltaic, battery storage, and rainwater harvesting to produce 140 MWh and 320,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Hibiscus by Arianna Vignati, Davide Benvenuti, Piero Fissore, Luna La Volpe, Nellie Nicholas, Samnang Oum, Alessandro Bianciardi, Monica Rossi, Gaetano Cascini, Michelle Douglas, Chi Ryan, Scott Skipworth, Dirk Vos (Australia) incorporates flexible solar photovoltaic, micro wind turbines, constructed wetlands, rainwater harvesting, and battery storage to produce 140 MWh of electricity and 930,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Independence by Parimah Nasirzadeh, Erfan Nabavizadeh, Leila Yousefzadeh Shirazi, Fatemeh Daneshvar, and Khashayar Ghasemzadeh (Italy) incorporates solar photovoltaic, battery storage, modular planter boxes, and rainwater harvesting to produce 250 MWh of electricity and one million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Ligavatuvuce (Hands that Offer and Uplift) — a winning submission by Young Kang (United Arab Emirates and Australia) — incorporates solar photovoltaic, rainwater harvesting with biofiltration, and gravity-fed distribution to produce 120 MWh of electricity and 4.5 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Mangrove Bridge by Zhida WU and Qihong Wang (China) incorporates solar photovoltaic, rainwater storage, and solar distillation to produce 120 MWh of electricity and 4 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Marou: The Power of Community by Grigorii Matiunin and Larunin Vladislav (Czech Republic) incorporates solar photovoltaic, fog and rainwater harvesting, helophyte filtration, biogas system, and thermal battery to produce 120 MWh of electricity and 850,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
The Drua Fleet of Energy by Claire Benson, Supon Manuranga, Thanh Nguyen, and Carolyn Hill (New Zealand) incorporates solar photovoltaic, battery storage, dual-stream rainwater harvesting, biofiltration, and micro-enterprise hubs to produce 183 MWh of electricity and 600,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Arc of Nature by Liu Panpan, Liu chang, and Gulyasman (China) incorporates solar photovoltaic, rainwater harvesting, and soil-based water filtration to produce 108 MWh of electricity and 150,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Arrays of Vanua by Ai Ling Mak, Mohammad Horoub, Wichittra Wuthiboon, Adel Zekri, Alex Yango, and Kieve Mercado (Singapore) incorporates solar photovoltaic, stormwater harvesting and filtration, underground and above ground water storage to produce 150 MWh of electricity and 2.5 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Bula Sun by Caulder Wasmuth (United States) incorporates solar photovoltaic and rainwater harvesting to produce 140 MWh of electricity and 1 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Coconet by Yicen Zhong and Zhai Jingxuan (China) incorporates cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic panels, passive atmospheric water condensation to produce 128 MWh of electricity and 741,200 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Drua by Mehrdad Hadighi, Matthew Giarrusso, Anushka Acharya, Sarah Renner, Maison Smith, Delaney Minder, John Foreman, Hanin Othman, Joshua Conroy, Hong Wu, and Rahman Azari (United States) incorporates solar photovoltaic, biofiltration, aquifer recharge via log dams, and timber-constructed water storage vessels to produce 125 MWh of electricity and 4.9 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Energy Forest by Peng Chang, Cong Chen, and Ruojing Yuan (China) incorporates solar photovoltaic, integrated thermal water distillation, and rainwater harvesting to produce 147 MWh of electricity 327,000 liters of distilled water, and 542,000 liters filtered rainwater each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Just a Roof (Solar Canopy) by Gergely Bodnár, Gombos Tamás, and Imre Flóra Fanni (Hungary) incorporates solar photovoltaic and rainwater harvesting to produce 120 MWh of electricity and 30,000 liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Marou Vula by Adrien Thivolle (France) incorporates solar photovoltaic, rainwater harvesting with fabric-covered bladders, erosion control through native plantings, and coastal composting stations to produce 132 MWh of electricity and 450,000 liters of drinking water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Navigating Light, Holding Rain by Jisu Yang, Peter Heller, and Kunyue Qi (United States) incorporates solar photovoltaic, pumped hydroelectric storage and rainwater harvesting to produce 250 MWh of electricity and 8 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
SolaRain by Michael Lucy, Hannah Merrett-Kaufman, and Colin Davis (United States) incorporates solar photovoltaic, agrivoltaics, and rainwater harvesting to produce 130 MWh of electricity and 2 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
The Land Actuator by Maria Sol Meyer, Sarah Stevens, Hugo Mulder, Carlos Lora, and Sol Macchiavello (Argentina) incorporates semi-transparent solar photovoltaic modules, compressed earth brick cisterns, and fog harvesting to produce 135 MWh of electricity and 3.7 million liters of filtered water. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.
Valelaca Rokataki (Prismatic Parasol) by BJECT TERRITORIES, One Hermitage, Transsolar Klima Engineering, noodo lab, and OAKI Studio (Hong Kong, China SAR) incorporates flexible solar photovoltaic, gravity-fed pumped water energy storage, and rainwater harvesting to produce 115 MWh of electricity from solar, 95 MWh from upland micro hydro, and 3.6 million liters of filtered water each year. A submission to LAGI 2025 Fiji, held in collaboration with the Village of Marou.

Winning Proposals: Shaped as a perfect circle, The O by Alberto Roncelli is a solar-powered pavilion that unites clean energy, rainwater harvesting, and cultural gathering beneath a 40-meter-wide timber canopy. Merging spatial harmony with community resilience through collaborative design, the installation generates 150 MWh of electricity and 1.2 million liters of filtered water annually, while providing a flexible public space for Marou Village.

“LAGI Fiji represents a unique opportunity to explore renewable energy in a meaningful and poetic way,” said Roncelli. “I’m honored to develop this vision over the coming months and look forward to working closely with the Marou community.”

Rising from the landscape as a gesture of open palms offering yaqona (kava), Ligavatuvuce (“Hands that Offer and Uplift”) by Young Kang is a sculptural system of solar energy, rainwater harvesting, and cultural gathering. Drawing from Fijian tradition and local craftsmanship—and built collectively—the structure generates 120 MWh of electricity and provides 4.5 million liters of water annually, while creating a shaded ceremonial space that supports both community life and sustainable tourism in Marou Village.

“LAGI 2025 was an incredible opportunity to create something deeply connected with the Marou community, while advancing sustainability-focused art through concepts rooted in cultural traditions that link present and future generations,” said Kang.

Each team will now receive $100,000 USD to prototype their ideas. Prototypes will be exhibited at the Fiji Arts Council in Suva in early 2026, with one project ultimately selected for full-scale construction in Marou Village..

With climate impacts intensifying globally, the winning projects demonstrate how renewable infrastructure can deliver clean energy and water while also serving as spaces for gathering, learning, and sustainable economic development.

“These projects establish a new model for the co-creation, implementation, and operation of renewable energy and freshwater systems,” said Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry, LAGI co-founders. “Once operating, the pilot project will provide electricity and water, generate economic opportunities, and serve as a replicable model for other coastal communities across the Pacific.”

LAGI 2025 Fiji is working in coordination with the Fiji Department of Energy and the Fiji Rural Electrification Fund (FREF), supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Marou Village was identified through FREF’s feasibility study with support from Arizona State University. Operations and maintenance for the final installation will be informed by the FREF program as implementation moves forward.

In the lead-up to construction, the winning and shortlisted projects will be showcased this November at an exhibition hosted by the Fiji Arts Council and the residents of Marou Village. The opening event on November 6, 2025, will launch a new publication celebrating these innovations in place-based energy and water systems.

LAGI 2025 Fiji also aligns with the Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Fiji’s sustainability agenda and is envisioned as a future national landmark—an enduring model of co-design and climate resilience

Lagi Winner 2025

Reading
References
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FURTHER READING: For those interested in exploring this topic further, additional resources and in-depth materials are provided below when available; otherwise, no further reading is included at this time.:

This URL showcases the 205 design submissions we received from around the world in May 2025. featuring inspiring visions for place-based renewable energy and water systems, co-designed for island communities as part of the LAGI 2025 Fiji Portfolio : LAGI-2025 | Portfolio of Projects

REFERENCES: This guide is based on over a decade of research and firsthand experience living in Fiji. It incorporates extensive knowledge gained through long-term residence and ongoing engagement with the region. Images and text have been sourced from official references, which are acknowledged below, to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness.

FOOTNOTES: Additional details, clarifications, or sources referenced in this article are included as Footnotes below the text when applicable; otherwise, no Footnotes are provided.