A Building That's a Playable Rubik's Cube

Who says art has to be stuffy?

This past October, Spanish artist and designer Javier Lloret turned the Ars Electronica building in Linz, Austria into everybody’s favorite toy from the 1980s: the Rubik’s Cube. Even better, Lloret made his installation playable.

Puzzle Façade—the name of the artwork—allows individuals to manipulate the building by using a 3D-printed interface cube connected to the wall via Bluetooth technology. Unfortunately, because you cannot turn the building over, you’re only able to see two sides of the cube at a time. I’m guessing once the fascination of using a building as a toy wears off, people just give up and walk away frustrated.

Fidel Martinez is an editor at Fusion.net. He’s also a Texas native and a lifelong El Tri fan.