Visitor to the LAGI 2018 Melbourne exhibition leans over to read one of the display boards during the award ceremony, exhibition, and book launch at Fed Square. She points at the board while two other people stand behind also looking. It is evening and the lights have come on in the street in the background. It is a large space with complex ceiling structure and with lighting focused on the art boards.
Visitor to the LAGI 2018 Melbourne exhibition reads one of the display boards during the award ceremony, exhibition, and book launch at Fed Square.

LAGI Programming & Services

What We Do

The Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) develops context-specific, culturally grounded approaches to distributed clean energy through art and design. Working with local communities, artists, designers, engineers, and institutions, LAGI advances renewable energy projects through international design competitions, direct commissions, open calls, Solar Mural artworks, and participatory co-design initiatives for people of all ages.

LAGI’s work demonstrates how renewable energy infrastructure can do more than generate power. By integrating clean energy into public space as civic art, landscape, and architecture, LAGI creates projects that invite public participation, support education, and contribute lasting social and environmental value—helping communities imagine and build a post-carbon future.

Areas of Focus

Design Competitions and Participatory Design
LAGI design competitions surface innovative approaches to renewable energy through art, landscape, and architecture, engaging designers from around the world while responding to local cultural and environmental contexts. Alongside competitions, LAGI leads participatory co-design projects and Solar Mural installations that apply best practices from creative placemaking, civic art, and urban design to clean energy infrastructure—working directly with communities to shape projects that reflect shared values and lived experience.

Education, Outreach, and Publications
Artful applications of sustainable technology can spark curiosity, deepen understanding, and expand who feels empowered to engage with energy systems. LAGI’s educational programs integrate science, technology, engineering, and math with art and design, supporting project-based, STEAM-centered learning. Participants explore real-world concepts such as energy generation, efficiency, and measurement while also developing skills in spatial thinking, visual composition, and systems design. LAGI publications extend this work by documenting projects, research, and emerging ideas at the intersection of energy, culture, and public space.

Project Development and Construction
Advancing projects from concept to implementation is a core part of LAGI’s mission. Working with artists, engineers, municipalities, and community partners, LAGI supports the technical development, coordination, and realization of selected projects. Current work includes advancing Arch of Time—a solar-powered public artwork by Riccardo Mariano—originally submitted to LAGI 2019 Abu Dhabi and later selected by the City of Houston through a competitive public process.

Consulting and Design Advisory
LAGI participates on multidisciplinary project teams as a design and strategy advisor, helping clients increase on-site renewable energy while enhancing architectural quality and public engagement. This work supports cities, cultural institutions, developers, and energy partners seeking integrated solutions that treat clean energy as a visible, valued part of the built environment.

Research, Policy Innovation, and Communication
LAGI directors contribute to research, publications, and public discourse on energy transition, infrastructure, and community engagement. Through writing, speaking, and collaboration with academic and policy partners—including contributions to publications such as the Routledge Handbook of Energy Transitions and Issues in Science and Technology—LAGI works to advance more inclusive, design-informed approaches to emerging energy landscapes.