Harvard Square, Cambridge MA
August_Sept 2025
Heat BLOOMS works as a visual thermometer. The flowers “bloom” when temperatures reach 85 degrees or higher. The flowers are made using a smart memory alloy wire. The wire remembers its original form, which has been designed to be in the “open” position. As the wire cools down it softens and the weight of the petals partially “close” the blooms.
Photos and time lapse: Camilla Novo
Heat BLOOMS is a temporary art installation which responds to extreme heat. The installation, located in Brattle Square in Cambridge, MA, holds flowers that “bloom” when exposed to temperatures reaching 85 degrees, which the Department of Public Health considers a High Alert for communities experiencing this temperature for 3 consecutive days.
The 67 “blooms” call attention to the number of heat-related 911 calls made in the City of Cambridge during the last 4 years.
Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related mortality in the United States. In Massachusetts there have been at least 30 deaths related to extreme heat over the last decade. The number of days above 90 degrees is expected to double or even triple by 2050 compared to historical averages in the state. Higher temperatures pose serious health threats, especially in low-income and underserved urban areas.
Link to learn more about extreme heat in Massachusetts:
https://www.mass.gov/doc/extreme-heat-resource-guide-pdf/download
Photo Credit: Matt Conti
Heat BLOOMS was made possible thanks to the generous support and thoughtful contributions of those who champion public art and environmental equity…
Art For Public Good
TEAM:
Carolina Aragón - Lead Artist
Brynya Ablamsky - Architectural Designer/Project Manager
Emma Worth - Grant Writer
UMass Amherst Student TEAM:
Nikolas Dombrowski- Lead flower R&D
Grace Kirkpatrick - Design & Communication
Bridget Healy- Graphic Design
Oriya Falk- Fabrication
Nina Fritsch - Fabrication
Derek Ablamsky, Lucas Aragón Lustig, Lucia Aragón Lustig, Patrick Bowler, Michael Choudhary, Matt Conti, Nigel Cummings, Mike Davidsohn, Carl Fiochi, Jim Gibson, Claudia LaFontaine, Camilla Novo, Chis Rucinski & Christian Stromberg.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Consultant
TEAM:
Richmond So, RSE Associates Inc.
Juan Wulff, A1RE Design Build
Robert Gilmore, Gilmore Landscape Architecture
David Brano, Snapdragon Engineering
UMass Amherst Research TEAM:
Shannon Callaham
Carolina Aragón
Ezra Markowitz
City of Cambridge
UMass Amherst College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Harvard Chan NIEHS Center for Environmental Health
Art for Public Good, LLC
FUNDING:
Special thanks to: Claudia Zarazua & Lilian Hsu from the City of Cambridge, Denise Jillson from the Harvard Square Business Association, and Nancy Rihan-Porter from the City of Cambridge Department of Public Health.