Austin Proper, the downtown Austin condo and hotel tower still under construction at 600 West Second Street near Shoal Creek and the rest of the redeveloped Green Water Treatment Plant site, already has its first two permanent residents — and they’re owls. Two 10-foot owls at the corner of West Second and Nueces Streets, to be exact:
It’s certainly a more striking work of public art than those big concrete dog leavings over by the new Central Library, but what’s going on here? Called Kempelen’s Owls, the two sculptures are a collaborative work between the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places program and Massachusetts-based studio New American Public Art.
Kempelen’s Owls, inspired by the 18th-century robotics of Wolfgang Von Kempelen, will be an interactive sculpture that fosters curiosity. Two Texan great horned owls . . . will perch atop dodecahedrons (12 sided geometric shapes) and silently observe surrounding passers by. The interactive features of the work are hidden, awaiting discovery by visitors who can activate them to trigger movement in the owls.
— City of Austin Cultural Arts Division
Yes, you’re reading that correctly — the owls, spooky glowing eyes and all, are equipped with hidden mechanisms allowing them to turn their heads and stare at you. Just in time for Halloween, right?
Here’s a very complex article about some of the technology enabling this extremely interesting and mildly unsettling feature, and below you’ll find a video from the artists about the design and fabrication of the owls — they’re made from “layered metal and other composite materials,” per the studio:
The installation is also the first in the city’s Art in Public Places collection to be fully open-sourced under a creative commons license, meaning in theory you have all the resources available to build one of these terrifying things yourself.
Here’s a full 3D model of the work from computer-aided design software firm Autodesk, one of the project’s main sponsors — we’re just gonna scroll it around a little and call it a day, but feel free to start putting one together in your garage if the design really speaks to you. Your neighbors will love this thing.
Latest Downtown Austin Condos For Sale
-
$315,000
1800 Lavaca ST #A707
Austin, TX -
$1,225,000
202 Nueces ST #1603
Austin, TX -
$1,739,000
70 Rainey ST #1306
Austin, TX -
$1,500,000
301 West Ave #1706
Austin, TX -
$1,500,000
555 E 5th ST #2901
Austin, TX -
$2,500,000
40 N Interstate 35 Highway #PA1
Austin, TX -
$995,000
48 East Ave #1811
Austin, TX -
$1,095,000
54 Rainey ST #802
Austin, TX -
$2,240,000
MLS # 7048577
Austin, TX -
$499,000
210 Lee Barton DR #321
Austin, TX -
$870,000
501 West Ave #802
Austin, TX -
$649,000
360 Nueces ST #2401
Austin, TX -
$650,000
48 E East Ave #3203
Austin, TX -
$595,000
48 East Ave #3005
Austin, TX -
$1,349,000
70 Rainey ST #1402
Austin, TX
-
Lot Size388 sqft
Home Size880 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size57 sqft
Home Size941 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size166 sqft
Home Size1,743 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,490 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size175 sqft
Home Size1,755 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2.5 Baths
-
Lot Size4,879 sqft
Home Size6,260 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths4.5 Baths
-
Lot Size88 sqft
Home Size1,036 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths1.5 Baths
-
Lot Size393 sqft
Home Size1,557 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size131 sqft
Home Size1,918 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size349 sqft
Home Size862 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size53 sqft
Home Size846 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size88 sqft
Home Size801 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size641 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size61 sqft
Home Size706 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,154 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
Leave a Reply