*

* (pronounced “star”) is a climbable great stellated dodecahedron designed as an inviting landmark on the playa. It’s a 30-foot metal structure with multi-level floors, offering a communal gathering space and unique viewpoints for participants.

The structure is made of welded steel with round aluminum tubing, and two grated floors inside let people climb higher. The structure's five lower spikes, truncated to anchor into the ground, give the impression of * being embedded into the earth, enhancing its otherworldly appearance.

Participants will be able to climb the piece.  The unusual geometry offers a new and fun climbing experience, while the stable structure and plentiful grab points make climbing fairly accessible.  There will be two levels of floor that participants can rest on to hang out or enjoy the views.  We have found that looking out through the structure at the sky or at the playa is really breathtaking. 

Glasshouse Arts has two main threads connecting their projects: a sparse geometric beauty, and a playful experiential trash art vibe.  Often one of the other of these disparate threads dominates an individual project. Last year we brought the MOOT to the playa.  This was an exciting piece for us and it brought together both these threads in a strong and coherent way.  Still, throughout the process of working on and building that piece we discovered that the beauty of the geometric form was not able to be fully enjoyed or appreciated in the full MOOT form.  So we want to bring back the sparse geometric structure as a stripped down piece.  Participants will have a different and more free climbing experience.  And they will be able to appreciate the way the geometric form frames the views of BRC.

* is about creating a place for people to come together naturally. Stripping away the interactive tech gives it a different feel this time—more grounded and simple. It’s just a sturdy structure in the middle of the desert, built to be explored, climbed, and enjoyed however people want. There’s something nice in leaving it open to interpretation and letting it just be a place people can use as they need.

In 2024 we brought the MOOT (Matter Out Of Time) to the playa.  The time machine components were nestled into a large climbable spiky ball.  The time machine will not be intersecting our space time continuum while BRC 2025 is in existence.  However, the spikey ball is pretty rad on its own.

This new project is a modification of MOOT, which was placed in deep playa last year.  This version of * is simpler than the original. All electronics and interactive elements have been removed,  We will alter the floor to split it into two half floors at two different levels, all new lighting is moved outside and powered by solar, and the fabric sails are gone.