Lynn Basa’s 1,775-square-foot fused glass artwork welcomes visitors to the Multnomah County Central Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, designed by SRG Partnership/CGL Ricci Greene (new construction – 2020). Composed of 120 5’ x 3’ panels, the total size of the artwork is 71’ long by 25’ tall. It is mounted in the courthouse’s fully-glazed main lobby and is expected to endure for the life of the courthouse.
As the project fabricator, Bullseye Studio worked with SRG to synchronize SRG’s vision of the space with the artist’s vision of the artwork.The architects led decisions about how the artwork should be framed and integrated into the surrounding materials and lighting systems, while Bullseye Studio helped facilitate decisions about how proud of the surrounding stone the artwork should stand, and about frame line weights and joint widths. Bullseye Studio was also responsible for working with SRG and the installer to coordinate details of the installation to ensure the space was properly prepared to receive the artwork: i.e., establishing how to hang a two-story artwork divided by a seismic joint and mounted to walls with different load ratings.
For safety purposes, Bullseye Studio bonded lightweight aluminum honeycomb backers to each of the glass panels, thereby resolving seismic activity concerns and circumventing the weight and cost of lamination.
Unlike stained glass, or digitally-printed interlayers laminated to float glass, kilnformed (fused glass) artworks are monolithic: the artwork is 100% glass and contains no lead lines or films and therefore requires much less maintenance, eliminates the otherwise numerous points of potential structural failure, and interacts more cleanly with light.
This project, funded by Multnomah County Percent for Art and managed by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, exemplifies how fused glass can be fabricated at large scale with properties offered by no other material. Learn more at http://bit.ly/mcccbasa.
View Original