Why Orlando Is Investing in Public Arts

What was supposed to be just another parking lot has become a dazzling display of digital art and the centerpiece of a new town center in Orlando, Florida. By day, The Beacon is a simple steel structure covered in more than 8,000 white aluminum shingles. By night, however, the 60-foot enclosure turns into a spectacle for both locals and tourists, as stunning projections of colorful lights, patterns, and images fill its outer layer.

In one display, what appears to ink slowly seeps in from the top—as if dissolving into a glass of water—and turns the tower black. In another, a school of fish dances across the surface against the backdrop of the deep blue sea. There are dozens more, says Jeffrey “Jefre” Manuel, a Florida-based environmental artist who was the principle designer behind the installation.