Rising from the public space surrounding TIAA’s headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Bluebonnet gathers into a luminous landmark—one that feels both grounded and in motion. From afar, the installation anchors the site; up close, it reveals a layered choreography of form, light, and reflection that shifts with time and viewpoint.

Inspired by Texas’s state flower, Bluebonnet translates the verticality and collective movement of springtime fields into a radial array of bent and laser-cut aluminum tubes. When bluebonnets bloom, their upright stems move together in the wind, transforming expansive landscapes into animated surfaces. That rhythm is captured through ten rows of tubes, each set at a distinct angle and length to suggest motion held in suspension.

Although all 570 tubes are unique, they operate as a single system—a frozen gust rendered in metal. Variation accumulates into a coherent directional flow, allowing the structure to read as a still frame of wind passing through a field.

At night, the installation is activated by custom-programmed LEDs integrated within each tube. Light reflects off petal-like surfaces created by precise cut openings, causing illumination to register as growth rather than glow. As LEDs fade in and out, the petals appear to open and close, producing a slow, organic pulse across the array.

Generative lighting behaviors animate the field as a whole, with waves of light rippling through the radial form to reinforce the impression of wind moving once again through the structure. Material, geometry, and light work together to maintain a balance between presence and subtlety.

Through this interplay, Bluebonnet operates as both sculpture and beacon—oscillating between stillness and motion, solidity and atmosphere—offering a contemporary interpretation of a familiar natural phenomenon embedded within the Texas landscape.

Photos of Installation