GYRE
Seattle, WA
2014
-
Gyre is located adjacent to Lake Washington in Seattle (WA), directly above the transition point where water running through an underground culvert becomes a day-lit creek and protected salmon habitat. The cedar used in the sculpture was salvaged from a log supporting the end of a decommissioned bridge that was removed from the City of Seattle’s Cedar River watershed.
IMAGES
Gyre, Seattle, WA, 2014. The sculpture is 21 feet high by 7 feet by 5 feet, supported by a cantilevering 12-foot diameter stainless steel ring, anchored to a concrete headwall. The interior structure of the sculpture is stainless steel with a skin of old-growth cedar defining the exterior form. Located in Beer Shiva Park on Lake Washington in Seattle (WA), the sculpture was commissioned by the City of Seattle.
GYRE
Seattle, WA
2014
Gyre is located adjacent to Lake Washington in Seattle (WA), directly above the transition point where water running through an underground culvert becomes a day-lit creek and protected salmon habitat. The cedar used in the sculpture was salvaged from a log supporting the end of a decommissioned bridge that was removed from the City of Seattle’s Cedar River watershed.
IMAGES
Gyre, Seattle, WA, 2014. The sculpture is 21 feet high by 7 feet by 5 feet, supported by a cantilevering 12-foot diameter stainless steel ring, anchored to a concrete headwall. The interior structure of the sculpture is stainless steel with a skin of old-growth cedar defining the exterior form. Located in Beer Shiva Park on Lake Washington in Seattle (WA), the sculpture was commissioned by the City of Seattle.
A digital model (derived from a small hand-built model) was made in order to assess structural needs for the sculpture as well to identify the shape and scale of the stainless steel parts making up the interior structure of the sculpture. The stainless steel components were laser cut and then welded together along with the 12-foot diameter stainless steel ring support. The structural stainless structure was skinned with cedar, salvaged and milled from long-buried logs. Each of the vertical wood panels was formed in multiple thin layers glued together to hold the complex curves of the sculpture’s form. Slats inserted loosely into grooves between each set of panels allow the wood to flex with temperature and humidity fluctuations. No preservatives were applied to the surface of the wood sculpture. The wood will grey with time and eventually resemble the hue of the stainless steel. Beyond the aesthetic desire to forgo preservatives, the water below the sculpture is legally protected fish habitat. Stainless steel was also chosen to prevent rust or leaching of iron into this habitat.
PROCESS