Buckyball, 2016
Site specific installation for the Exploratorium, Pier 15, The Plaza, San Francisco, CA
Inspired by the shape first explored by futurist and inventor Buckminster Fuller, Leo Villareal’s Buckyball is a towering 25-foot illuminated sculpture featuring two nested geodesic spheres. Composed of 4,500 LED nodes arranged along a series of pentagons and hexagons, Buckyball is animated by custom software programmed by Villareal to display over 16 million distinct colors. The lights dynamically shift and fade in both sequenced patterns and random order, generating vibrant hues that enliven the Exploratorium’s public space in both daylight and moonlight.
To learn more about the Exploratorium and their work, visit exploratorium.edu.