Eduardo Catalano, Stainless Steel and Aluminum, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Inaugurated in April 2002, this gigantic flower by Buenos Aires-born Eduardo Catalano has become one of the latest icons of Buenos Aires. Officially the flower goes by the name of Floralis Generica, but since nobody seems to be able to remember that ‘scientific’ name, it usually gets called the Steel Flower. The solar flower is 23 metres high and weighs 18 tonnes. When the petals are open they span 32 metres and when closed only 16 metres.
One of the fascinating features of this sculpture is that it acts like a real flower in that its gigantic petals are open during the day and then close for the night with a red glow emanating from within. There are four special nights a year where the petals remain open: 25th May, 21st September and the 24th and 31st of December.
The Steel Flower is made of stainless steel and aluminium and sits in the centre of a pool of water which reflects the flower and also protects it from vandals.