Mueller’s SunFlower

— If you live in Austin, chances are you have seen the art display along IH-35 in the Mueller shopping area. How could anyone miss those large blue sunflower-like structures? These man-made structures are in fact solar panels. They collect sunlight and return it to the city grid. During the day the structures may look odd, but at night, the cobalt-blue light they show is mesmerizing. Furthermore, if you look at them up close, such as in my photo above, they clearly look like something taken from a science fiction movie.

The series of Mueller sunflowers are officially titled “SunFlowers – An Electric Garden.” However, in Austin most people probably know them as Mueller sunflowers. This is the largest public art installation in Austin to date. The art concept originated with the team Mags Harries and Lajos Héder. These photovoltaic columns can be seen up close since there is a hiking trail around the area. Even though they were built to collect solar energy, it appears that is no longer happening. Their size is 30 feet x 1,000 feet x 16 feet (9.14 m x 304 m x 4.87 m)

To those not living in the Austin area, the blue Mueller sunflowers are located right on the east frontage road of IH-35 just around 51st Street. This is where the old Austin airport was located. Now, the area is a residential development with a variety of homes and stores.

For more about this project, you can visit the Culture Trip site or the creators of the project, Harries and Héder.