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Acclaimed Artist Maya Lin to Bring New Public Artwork to UT Austin

“Floating Landscape” will blend sculpture and ecological design, opening on campus in April 2027

Rendering of large artwork by Maya Lin to be installed at University of Texas at Austin in 2027
Daytime rendering of "Floating Landscape," (Courtesy of Maya Lin Studio; Commission, Landmarks, The University of Texas at Austin, 2027)

A new work by one of America’s most influential artists is coming to The University of Texas at Austin. Landmarks, UT Austin’s public art program, has announced “Floating Landscape,” a new 3,600-square-foot work by Maya Lin — the artist whose design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial first brought her national attention while she was still a Yale undergraduate.

photo of artist Maya Lin in her studio
Maya Lin (Courtesy of Maya Lin Studio; Photo by Jesse Frohman)

Set to open April 9, 2027, “Floating Landscape” will be Lin’s first public commission in Texas. The project will be located at the new Autry C. Stephens Engineering Discovery Building, designed by CO Architects for the Cockrell School of Engineering.

Part sculpture, architecture and ecological design, the work will feature a sweeping, semi-elevated concrete form with a central opening. Visitors will be able to walk across and gather on its surface, making the artwork less an object to look at than a place to experience. At night, embedded LED lights will trace the constellations visible in the Texas sky on September 15, 1883 — the date UT Austin was founded.

Rendering of large artwork by Maya Lin to be installed at University of Texas at Austin in 2027
Nighttime rendering of “Floating Landscape,” (Courtesy of Maya Lin Studio; Commission, Landmarks, The University of Texas at Austin, 2027)

Art, Ecology and the Texas Landscape

“Few artists have shaped the American public imagination as profoundly as Maya Lin,” says Andrée Bober, Founding Director and Curator of Landmarks, in a recent press release. “What moves me most about ‘Floating Landscape’ is the way it invites people to inhabit the work rather than simply observe it.”

“Floating Landscape” will sit within a restored meadow designed by Lin in collaboration with Lionheart Places and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Thus connecting Lin’s artwork to the ecology of the site and ongoing restoration efforts along Waller Creek. “Much of my work begins with the landscape and the experience of moving through space,” Lin shares in the press release. “This project grew out of the ecology of the site and the openness of the Texas sky, creating a gathering place within the daily life of the university.”

Landmarks will celebrate the opening on April 9 with a public conversation between Lin and art historian Jana La Brasca. Additional details will be announced in the coming months. For more info you can visit landmarks.utexas.edu.

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