Art for the Public Good: UMass Amherst Team Brings Temperature-responsive Sculpture to Cambridge to Spotlight Extreme Heat Risks
“Heat Blooms” in Cambridge’s Brattle Square. Photo: Matt Conti
Source: UMass News & Media
A team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has transformed Cambridge’s Brattle Square into a visual thermometer with “Heat Blooms,” a new public art installation commissioned by the City of Cambridge that opens viewers’ eyes to the dangers of extreme heat in Massachusetts. The installation, which uses handcrafted, heat-activated flowers to make the invisible impacts of climate change visible, was designed by Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Carolina Aragón, architectural designer Brynya Ablamsky, and their Art for Public Good team, in collaboration with UMass students and regional design and engineering firms.
Extreme heat is on the rise in Massachusetts, with the state experiencing more days above 85°F and longer heat waves each year. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), at least 30 heat-related deaths have occurred over the past decade—and the numbers are climbing.
The installation’s smart memory alloy wires hold colorful vinyl flowers fully open when temperatures exceed 85°F, a level DPH deems a “high threat” if sustained for three days. As temperatures drop, the petals gently close. The 67 blooms symbolize the number of heat-related emergency calls made in Cambridge since 2021, blending data and design into a shared public experience. Part of Cambridge’s Shade is Social Justice program, “Heat Blooms” will remain in Brattle Square through September 28.
“I’ve been trying to produce artworks that respond to environmental conditions in ways that are easy to understand and that give each project a sense that it has a life of its own,” says Aragón, who has spent eight years incorporating smart materials into her teaching and public art.
This is the third in a series of Art for Public Good projects about extreme heat and environmental justice. In 2024, Aragón and her team partnered with Cooler Communities and Duggan Academy in Springfield to raise awareness about extreme heat in classrooms. They created sWARM—a kinetic origami butterfly display for the Springfield Science Museum that changed color with rising temperatures, revealing student messages about climate impacts. The project earned the 2025 CODAawards Merit Award in the Social + Climate category.
The project is part of a larger collection of artworks in Greater Boston that have been recognized for their contribution to climate communication. “FutureSHORELINE,” installed in the Fort Point Channel in 2021, won the international climate communication award from the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change. “High Tide,” installed in the Rose Kennedy Greenway in 2016, and later at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., was selected for the 5th National Climate Assessment Art X Climate Gallery.
