Architecture

BIG inflatable disco ball headed to Burning Man

BIG inflatable disco ball headed to Burning Man
The designers aim to raise US$50,000 on Indiegogo to fund the project
The designers aim to raise US$50,000 on Indiegogo to fund the project
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The designers aim to raise US$50,000 on Indiegogo to fund the project
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The designers aim to raise US$50,000 on Indiegogo to fund the project
At night the Orb would be lit up by spotlights
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At night the Orb would be lit up by spotlights

Burning Man isn't exactly lacking in interesting art and architecture, but the next annual desert gathering may feature a large inflatable mirrored globe among all the other unusual structures. Named the Orb, the art piece is being produced by BIG's Bjarke Ingels, along with collaborator Jakob Lange, and is currently the subject of a crowdfunding campaign.

We've no word on where the impetus for the project came from, but it's tempting to imagine that BIG boss Bjarke Ingels enjoyed himself at last year's festival so much that he was inspired to get involved.

The idea is that people will be able to gaze up at themselves dancing around in the daytime, while at night the Orb will be lit by spotlights and serve as an easily recognizable landmark.

At night the Orb would be lit up by spotlights
At night the Orb would be lit up by spotlights

If realized, the sphere itself will have a diameter of roughly 100 ft (30 m), which is about 1:500,000th of the earth's surface, says Ingels. The structure will consist of the inflatable sphere, a mast, baseplate, foundations and electrical gear. Once the festival is finished it'll simply be deflated and removed.

Like the Steam Ring Generator, the Orb is being part-funded with a crowdfunding campaign. The firm aims to raise US$50,000 on Indiegogo within the next two months and promised rewards include postcards, posters, and engraved steel spheres, as well as a private visit into the actual orb itself somehow to experience a private audiovisual show.

Check out the video below to see Ingels discussing the project.

Source: Indiegogo

The Burning Man Orb - Indiegogo Campaign

2 comments
2 comments
thuds36th
Let the 1%'ers who attend contribute. Average "Joe" has better ways to waste fungible income
BeinThayer
"... a diameter of roughly 100 ft (30 m), which is about 1:500,000th of the earth's surface, ..." . Nope. First: a distance cannot be merely a fraction of an area. Giving benefit of the doubt that the intention was to relate the surface area of the sphere to that of thr Earth....it is off by orders of magnitude. A sphere with a 15m radius has roughly a 2700 m^2 surface area. The surface of the Earth is roughly 510 trillion m^2. So it isn't 1: 5×10^5 It is about 1: 1.9 x 10^11 . That is so far off.