Floralis Genérica
is a sculpture made of steel and aluminum located in Plaza de las Naciones Unidas, Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, Buenos Aires, a gift to the city by the Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano. Catalano once said that the flower "is a synthesis of all the flowers and, at the same time, a hope reborn every day at opening." It was created in 2002. The sculpture was designed to move, closing it spetals in the evening and opening them in the morning.
One of the characteristics of the flower is an electrical system that automatically opens and closes the petals depending on the time of the day. At nigh the flower closes, emanating a red glow from in side, and reopens ("...is reborn...") the following morning. This mechanism so closes the flower if strong winds blow.
It opens every morning at 8 and closes at sunset, on a schedule that changes according to the season
According to Eduardo Catalano, the author,
Floralis "means belonging to the flora and therefore the flowers", and
Genérica "from the concept of "gender" and indicates that it represents all the flowers in the world"