Echoes (2021)

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Client: MuseumsQuartier Wien, Quartier des Spectacles Partnership in Montrèal and LAC Arte e Cultura Lugano.
Architect: Mathias Gmachl
Location: Vienna, Austria

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Date: 2021-05-21 00:00:00 +0000 UTC
Tags: sculpture, steel, optimisation

Echoes

For his installation “Echoes”, Mathias wanted to ensure the finished sculpture matched the size of the smallest adult blue-whale, which defined the requirement for the piece to be a minimum of 17m long. Format worked with Mathias and fabricators Littlehampton Welding to ensure the entire sculpture could be made from thin developable flat elements, such that fabrication was possible within a limited budget.

The installation was developed between Mathias and marine biologists with the “stripes” along the installation remeniscent of the belly folds in a blue whale. The piece has a lighting and sound installation in the evenings that dims to nothing if viewers approach too close, drawing attention to the problems of marine noise pollution in our oceans.

Format Engineers were responsible for structural engineering and fabrication design, producing calculations and the full cutting pattern package (in collaboration with Mathias Gmachl)