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”
We 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.
The Increasing Importance of DurabilityWhile tensile fabric has several distinct advantages over more traditional materials like glass, one of the most important may be its ability to withstand severe weather events. Our tensile structures and tensile facades in Miami, Jacksonville, Houston, Fort Worth, Waco, and Atlanta did not sustain any damage or require any repair despite enduring events ranging […]
