Client: Irgens Development

Location: Milwaukee, WI, United States

Completion date: 2016

Artwork budget: $500,000

Project Team

Artist

Paul Mattek

Design Fugitives

Artist

Tuan Tran

Design Fugitives

Artist

Justin White

Design Fugitives

Overview

Suspended atrium sculpture, 50’x40’x10′, comprised of 300 custom-perforated copper tubes, held in a tensegrity formation with stainless steel wire and custom-designed hardware, internally lit with strips of LEDs.

Goals

The goal of this project was to create a statement piece for the 4-story atrium of a new office high-rise being constructed in downtown Milwaukee. This was our most technically challenging project to date in regards to form, fabrication, lighting and installation. We had to design and install the sculpture around multiple spatial constraints, while still maintaining the integrity and artistry of the piece.

Process

The sculpture was entirely designed, fabricated, and installed by Design Fugitives. To create this piece, we worked with the building architect, Kahler Slater, and our client, Irgens Development, to ensure that the piece we created would work within the spatial constraints and complement the architecture well.

Additional Information

To overcome spatial concerns, we wrote a computer program to determine placement of each module within the structure. This ensured that the sculpture wouldn’t overlap outside of its spatial constraints and designed custom hardware ensure modules are joined together at specific angles and remain structurally sound.