2008 - 2009

Artist: Janet Echelman

Structural Engineer:
Nathaniel M. Stanton SE AIA - Structural Engineer and Project Manager for the Phoenix Civic Space Sculpture while working as the Group Leader of the Special Projects Group at Buro Happold in New York.


Design: 
The structural design of the Phoenix Civic Space Sculpture was an exploration of derived form with the artist Janet Echelman.  The process to explore form began with geometrical models supplied by the artist that were rebuilt as analytical models and form found under gravity loads using Dynamic Relaxation.  The resulting forms were compared against the artist's vision in collaboration with the artist and iterated until they matched.  In addition to gravity loading, the sculpture was subjected to wind loading which was applied as drag forces using a modified fluid analysis.  The final structural analysis incorporated non-linearities in geometry, loading and material behavior.