Google Redwood City - Topographic Map
Dec 2017 - November 2018
This project was created for the Google ‘Grove Experience Center’ in Redwood City, California.
The sculpture depicts the California coast line running north to south centered on the San Francisco Bay. Our client wanted the design to initially appear to be a abstract art piece so it was tilted 90 degrees and functional markings like roadways and political boundaries were omitted.
These reference documents were created by me at the conclusion of the project to provide both internal and client facing documentation for the components I fabricated and assembled.
Fabrication for this project took place over the 2018 calendar year and was initially assembled in the Iontank studio. One factor complicating this build was that the building where the Grove would be permanently installed was still under construction while
Digital prototyping allowed us to get a sense of the assembly and aesthetics without needing to take time and materials to create physical prototypes.
Digital prototyping allowed us to get a sense of the assembly and aesthetics without needing to take time and materials to create physical prototypes.
The "Foliage Supports" act as the rigid aluminum spine for the printed acrylic "Leaf Panels". It was laser cut from 3000 series aluminum and bent on a metal brake. 100 of these parts were made, mirror images of each other 50 left, 50 right. This part also gave some fine adjustability to the counter-balance of the branch as it could be adjusted fore or aft once installed in the tree with the leaf panels attached.
One early change that was made after discussions around digital prototyping was to alter the steel counterweights on the rear of the branches. This component, designed to reduce strain on the motors, the assembly could weight as much as 40 pounds. When installed these parts would be hanging 11 - 26 feet in the air. The design was altered to one that would result in a more complex installation process but provided a more secure attachment in the event of seismic events or catastrophic failure.
The "Foliage Supports" act as the rigid aluminum spine for the printed acrylic "Leaf Panels". It was laser cut from 3000 series aluminum and bent on a metal brake. 100 of these parts were made, mirror images of each other 50 left, 50 right. This part also gave some fine adjustability to the counter-balance of the branch as it could be adjusted fore or aft once installed in the tree with the leaf panels attached.
Once the metal parts had been commissioned by local fabricators we got to work machining the branch "Limbs" from 1/2" Puma-Plywood. All substrate for this project needed to by fire retardant to match building standards.
Some parts were veneered in house other we hired additional help, this job was too big to be handled by our small team alone.