Land Art Generator Initiative

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Land Art Generator Initiative

Renewable Energy Can Be Beautiful. We also host online educational programming and engage communities through various public events and outreach.

The Land Art Generator provides a platform for creatives to bring forward solutions for sustainable energy infrastructures that enhance the city as works of public art. LAGI serves to educate and inspire people about the potential for renewable energy generation infrastructure to become integrated into the aesthetic of our cities in ways that contribute to the cultural richness of the built enviro

nment. We do this through the biennial LAGI international design competition which calls on interdisciplinary teams to conceive of large-scale site-specific public artworks that, in addition to their conceptual beauty, also contribute real megawatt hours to the city grid at a utility scale.

31/07/2026

Congratulations to everyone at HipHop is Green on the launch of the cherrystreetfarm.com with new Land Art Generator Solar Mural artworks by Aniekan and Julianna Bernardo that generate clean energy from the sun while beautifying this incredible new garden space in the heart of Seattle!

Scroll through for some of the details about how the Solar Mural technology works and how it is applied. Thanks also to Sistine Solar for supplying the custom film and to SolTerra for installing the project.

As you can see in the close up image, the pixel dots are placed to allow sunlight to pass through to the photovoltaic cells while from a distance the image comes to life.

At the opening everyone kept saying, "I didn't even know these were solar panels" or some variation on that. It's a great way to bring clean energy into our cities in ways that support culture, storytelling, and community.

These Solar Mural artworks face east and west, so one will make energy in the morning and one in the evening, both times when the grid can use extra solar power to ease the reliance on batteries before or after midday.

The last two images are 1. "La Monarca," the artwork from 2017 by Cruz Ortiz that started the Solar Mural movement and 2. "Ella" by Kat Cadena 2025, the final project we completed in partnership with Penelope Boyer at Booker T Washington Elementary in San Antonio (rest in peace Penny. we miss you).💕

We hope to see more Solar Murals popping up everywhere! Let us know if you have a wall in mind. 😀

16/06/2026

Good news! The clean-energy transition stopped being a moral argument this year. It instead became a math problem. And fossil fuels are failing: https://landartgenerator.org/blagi/archives/78948

Solar + storage is now cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives for nearly every useful purpose: moving a car, generating electricity, heating a home. Not just "cheaper if you count the externalities." Cheaper period.

We put together charts that tell the story across three major systems: (1) pump vs. plug for transportation, (2) gas vs. solar for electricity, and (3) gas vs. heat pumps for buildings. In every case we're comparing fossil fuels to "dispatchable solar" or solar + storage to provide power when and where it's needed.

What all this means is that over the next couple of decades, nearly all of the systems we rely on will transition away from reliance on burning oil and gas for energy and instead move towards using solar + storage — not because it's better for the planet and future life on Earth, but just because it's cheaper!

21/04/2026

As part of the development process for LAGI 2025 Fiji, the Village of Marou hosted a team of geotechnical engineers who took soil samples that will help Alberto Roncelli and the engineering team to design the best foundation for the winning project—The O. Thanks to everyone in Marou who cleared the site and a path for equipment, provided lunch for the crew, and accommodated the drilling noise! And thanks to Tonkin & Taylor and Rockwell Engineering for your hard work getting to the "bottom" of the soil profile. Tonkin + Taylor

20/04/2026

LAGI will be presenting at DC Climate week this Wednesday, April 22,
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM along with Terry Lee (Garvey Labs), Ernest Popescu (Metrobloks), and Trevor Lee (Olin Studio). Join us as we explore what is possible for the design of data centers and the energy landscapes that power them. Big thanks to Julia Stein and Commodity Talent for putting this together and for AIA DC for hosting. More information: https://luma.com/740hnw8v

Power Where It's Needed: Designing Renewable Energy into Urban Data Centers and Public Space

Every development presents an opportunity to deploy renewable energy where it is needed most — adjacent to demand loads and embedded in the communities it serves. Yet onsite generation is routinely treated as an afterthought: aesthetically inconvenient, financially vulnerable, and among the first items cut during value management. Clean energy migrates to remote sites, disconnected from urban fabric and public life — even as energy-intensive facilities like data centers continue to expand into cities, intensifying local grid demand and overtaxing long distance transmission infrastructure.

This panel argues for a different model. It examines how architects, artists, and developers can position renewable energy systems as core to a building's design identity — a generator of form, materiality, and public meaning. What is the current state of energy-generating materials and integrated systems? How are developers of data centers rethinking the relationship between energy production and site? And where funding mechanisms like percent-for-art programs already exist, can those resources be directed toward infrastructure that is both culturally significant and functionally generative?

16/04/2026

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Art + Environment Summit at the Nevada Museum of Art. LAGI will be speaking tomorrow, April 17th in the afternoon session, sharing our vision for the future.
https://www.nevadaart.org/2026summit/

List of presenters:
Kai Anderson
Makeda Best
Andrea Bowers
Johanna Burton
Carolina Caycedo
Sudeep Chandra
Brittany Nicole Cox
Apsara DiQuinzio
Ginger Dunnill
Herman Fillmore
William L. Fox
LaToya Ruby Frazier
Jeffrey Gibson
Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner
Jonathon Keats
Dr. Bernie Krause
Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI)
Rebecca Lendl
Margaret Levi
Judith Lowry
Cannupa Hanska Luger
Jack Malotte
Haley Mellin
Stacey Montooth
Maia Nuku
Madison Olandt
Laura Ortman
Eric-Paul Riege
Colin M. Robertson
Kim Stanley Robinson
Rose B. Simpson
Delaine Spilsbury
Clarissa Tossin
Oscar Tuazon
David B. Walker
Ann M. Wolfe
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Lets'lo:tseltun

14/04/2026

🌿 Big news from the Pacific! 🌊 After a global design competition drawing 205 submissions from 45 countries, The O — a circular solar pavilion by Italian-Danish architect Alberto Roncelli has been selected for full-scale construction in Marou Village, Naviti Island, Fiji. The 40-meter timber-canopied structure will generate 150 MWh of electricity and 1.2 million liters of filtered water annually — meeting the real energy and water needs of 67 households in Marou Village.

This solar and water microgrid is also public art, cultural space, and a community-owned vision for a vibrant and resilient future. Construction begins in early 2027. Both finalists' prototypes are on display at the Fiji Arts Council in Suva through May 2026 — go see them if you can.

🔗 Learn more: lagi2025fiji.org
United Nations Development Programme - UNDP Tourism Fiji Arizona State University Fiji Arts Council

31/03/2026

We're grateful to Young Kang and Alberto Roncelli for successfully delivering functioning prototypes of their LAGI 2025 Fiji Stage One winning designs. Thank you both!

Both projects are now on display at the Fiji Arts Council in Suva through the end of May 2026 — activating the front lawn with light and power for music, kava, and performance. In April, we'll announce the Stage Two winner and begin the next steps toward construction. See the last two images for aerial renderings of what each will look like when completed.

"Ligavatuvuce" by Young Kang was fabricated and installed by Permal Construction. It represents a 60% scale portion of the full 120 kW proposal. Its functional solar modules are illustrative of the 181 that will comprise the complete installation — a form celebrating the Fijian culture of giving.

"The O" by Alberto Roncelli was fabricated by Techlam and installed by Capital Construction. It is a 1:1 mock-up of two modules from the full-scale design, which will include 56 similar modules at up to 129 kW, providing a flexible venue for community activities.

Learn more at https://lagi2025fiji.org

Our sincere thanks to Fiji Arts Council Director Maciusela Raitaukala for making the display possible; to Loma Mataika, founder of Atelier153, who has been instrumental throughout prototyping; to CBS Enery Solutions for the solar install; to all the expert reviewers who gave their time and feedback; and to the residents of Marou Village — especially the four who made the long journey to Suva: Ilisari Naqau (acting Chief), Seru Lasa, Vika Lasa, and Villimoni Dau.

24/03/2026

We are delighted LAGI Fiji is part of the Sustainable Energy conference in Suva, Fiji this week, where the two finalist’s prototypes are on display at the Fiji Arts Council. More photos coming soon!

LAGI Fiji Project Director, Loma Mataika, presented in yesterday’s afternoon session where representatives of Marou Village were also in attendance. She spoke about her work with Young Kang and Alberto Roncelli on delivering the two prototypes and planning for the full scale implementation in Marou.

The fossil fuel crisis brought on by the war in Iran was a major topic of conversation since solar + storage offers the most obvious, affordable, and reliable solution for nations like Fiji who now rely heavily on imported oil, petrol, and diesel fuels.

10/03/2026

LAGI’s 2012 book, Regenerate Infrastructures, is featured in this video about YARAT, an Azerbaijani contemporary art space.

01/01/2026

LAGI 2025 Fiji was the 2nd most popular design competition in 2025 according to Bustler. Thanks to everyone who made the project a success, including participating designers, local and international partners, jurors, and advisors. We're looking forward to seeing the project advance towards implementation in 2026!

More at https://lagi2025fiji.org
Happy New Year 🎉🍾

Bustler

Hirmer Verlag Tourism Fiji

Address

Suva

Website

http://landartgenerator.org/

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