Putting Petal To The Metal

From the London architects who brought us the poetic Singing Ringing Tree comes a new installation called the Future Flower, a blooming 4.5 meter-wide, 14-meter-tall, wind-powered LED lantern made of perforated steel petals. The architectural sculpture designed by Tonkin Liu in collaboration with sustainability engineers XCO2, structural engineers Eckersley OʼCallaghan, and art fabricator Mike Smith Studio, was conceived as a symbol of renewal for the polluted riverfront land of Southern Widnes, Cheshire in the UK, currently undergoing regeneration. Varying wind speeds create different intensities of red light on the 120 petals, which otherwise reflect the colors of the sunset. Unfortunately it’s not much of a dazzler even at maximum power. It looks lonely. I wonder how it will age. Kinda looks like an oversized Torde Boontje garland gone street-lamp. More photos at Dezeen.