These awesome, 12-foot-tall, sunflower-inspired solar panels are part of a permanent (and functional) art installation in Texas. When the Mueller Development, a 10,000-soul New Urbanism community in Austin, signed off on the development of a large retail lot within their confines, part of the agreement was that the developers pay for something to draw the eye away from the less-than-attractive strip of loading docks behind the store.
Massachusetts-based art duo Mags Harries and Lajos Heder were commissioned to design an installation, and the result was Sunflowers, a series of fifteen solar towers that look like flowers. They soak up enough sun during the day to power the on-board LEDs at night, and excess juice goes back into the grid. Everyone wins, including the environment.
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