Massive art installations are always an eyecatcher, especially if the objects used are repurposed. An example of one of these artworks is the “Interloop” which is found in Sydney, Australia.
Source: Chris Fox
Chris Fox, an Architecture Professor from the University of Sydney came up with the design for the structure. The art installation consists of parts that have been collected from an again wooden escalator that has been removed to make way for a modern and updated structure to replace it. The wooden escalators were originally installed in the station way back 1931. Professor Fox thought of saving the parts and repurposed them to create this massive beautiful art installation. It is installed in Wynard Station, an underground commuter rail station that is found in the heart of Sydney.
Source: Chris Fox
The project was the fruit of the collaboration between Professor Fox, COX Architecture, 2 engineering firms, and 4 additional independent teams. They created a complex system of aluminum bracing and framing supports which were used in the suspension. According to professor Fox, he describes the scale of the structure as, “The vast, twisting accordion-shaped sculpture reconfigures the Heritage escalators that once stood there in a stitched form. Suspended between two ends of the building, Interloop measures more than fifty metres in length, weighs over five tonnes, and weaves in 244 wooden treads and four combs from the original escalators. Whilst paying homage to the past, it also, simultaneously, looks forward to the future.”
Source: Chris Fox
Source: Chris Fox
The whole structure took 48 hours to erect and it was made possible through tight teamwork. They even needed an excess of one kilometer of welding to be able to pull the large aluminum base together which was done at an offsite location. The structure has a total of 16 sections which had to be transported to Wynyard for the final stage of the project. The whole project took more than 8 months of thorough planning, work and design to be able to finish the project.
Source: Chris Fox
Source: Chris Fox
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