Eco Factor: Solar-powered artwork for San Francisco.

“Language of the Birds” is a site-specific artwork designed by Brian Goggin and Dvorka Keehn for a new public plaza in San Francisco. The artwork consists of 23 solar-powered book sculptures that are suspended from a geometric web of stainless steel aircraft cables. The “Language of the Birds” is the first permanent artwork in the United States.

Each of the books used in the artwork have been fabricated in white translucent polycarbonate. The fluttering books leave a gentle imprint of words beneath them. Passing under the artwork will make pedestrians feel that words have fallen from the pages of these solar-powered books. On closer inspection the fallen words are in English, Chinese and Italian and are carefully selected from a library.

These books keep harnessing the sun in the morning and as night falls the LEDs imbedded in each of the books light up creating a unique visual pattern, which change with time, giving a different view every time.

The Dark Side:

The artwork looks brilliant during nighttime, but the use of stainless steel cables spoils that brilliance during daytime.

Via: BrianGoggin/DBarch370087