Structurflex was chosen by famed sculptor Anish Kapoor to design, fabricate, and install Dismemberment, Site 1, his first permanent monumental open-air sculpture. Sited at Kaipara Harbour in New Zealand, the sculpture is exposed to the elements and must withstand extreme winds from the Tasman Sea.
A non-conventional coated PES fabric was used to ensure that the sculpture would retain its original appearance over time. Extensive planning and coordination meant coated PES fabric weighing 6.5 tons and steel ellipses weighing 47 tons each were transported to the steep site without issue. A total of 32 longitudinal mono-filament cables secured the installation and assisted the fabric shape in its transition from horizontal ellipse, to a perfect circle at mid span, to a vertical ellipse at the opposite end.
Videos and Short Films About the Project
“The Art of Politics,” Dateline, SBS
“New Form at the Farm: Anish Kapoor’s Dismemberment Site 1,” Ask Labs
Related Blog Post
“Anish Kapoor sculpture blends fabric and steel in New Zealand”
The five-story, 60’s era West Hills Medical Office Building in Los Angeles was due for an exterior facelift. A complete exterior renovation by Michael W. Folonis Architects revealed that water infiltration had caused structural damage to the existing horizontal plaster awnings; removing them was a costly process that consumed much of the project budget. This […]
KieranTimberlake: Printed Tensile Cladding at Rice UniversityWe are pleased to have collaborated with KieranTimberlake and the outfit of a parking structure on the Rice University Campus. In their blog post, they describe the concepts they employed to create an iconic sculptural element. For more details see the KieranTimberlake blog post.
