Category Q — Art/Sculpture
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Gold: Crystal Metalworks
Title of Entry: Stainless Steel Tapestry
Materials: 316L stainless steel plates, HSS tubes and angles
Finish: Two-step blasted finish
Total Labor Hours: 27,000
This stainless steel tapestry is a unique commemorative art installation of 95-foot-tall tapestry panels spanning 450+ feet. A stainless-steel box beam structure supported by 6 large concrete stone columns holds up the cable-net system. In addition, SS brackets protrude out of the stone columns to support the cables. A light trough runs across the length of the wall at the bottom of the tapestry and is supported by the cable system and brackets at each column.
The five 90’ long SS box beams, approximately 30 tons each, are made of 1¾" thick top and bottom plates and ½” thick side plates. To compensate for dead load deflections, cold cambering was used on the top and bottom plates during fabrication. The tapestry design required tight tolerances in every part of the structure during the fabrication and installation process. The structural support system set the foundation of the finished artwork and required tremendous coordination with the concrete and cable-net system contractors.
The tapestry features a two-step blasted finish: starblast media on the stainless steel to give it a uniform dull finish to remove imperfections; and glassbead for the Starblast surfaces to give the surface a relatively consistent and uniform polished finish.
To learn more about Crystal Metalworks, and to view more of the company's signature work, visit www.crystalsteel.com.
