Architect Fernando Romero tells us what fuels his creative vision, from rapid prototyping to Mayan culture.
Mexico City–based architect Fernando Romero‘s most recent project isn’t a building, but a scintillating orb made from thousands of custom-cut crystals. Illuminated from within, El Sol, as it’s named, features a tessellated surface composed of triangular prisms—a nod to the pyramids that were so meaningful to Aztec and Mayan culture. There’s an aural element to the piece, too: a soundtrack of acoustic waves produced by the sun, which astronomers at the University of Birmingham have recorded since the 1970s. The piece throws light around a room and gives off a disco ball vibe that’s fitting, since Swarovski commissioned it for the tradeshow-cum-social-event Design Miami.
