Being Part Of Mad. Sq. Art Outdoor Exhibition

We often talk about how wood and wood building products add feelings of warmth when they are used in building spaces. Sometimes, we've gone so far as to say that our product can bridge a gap between construction and art with its beauty and design aesthetic. Right now, we're excited to be working on a wonderful project that IS art.

In addition to other glulam projects, our production team is working hard to make material for a piece called Big Bling. This will be a major public sculpture by the renowned American sculptor Martin Puryear and will be on view in Madison Square Park in New York from May 16, 2016 to January 8, 2017.

The sculpture itself is truly massive -  It's nearly forty feet high! I was able to take a few photos in our plant when we were gluing plywood for the project. We are making three layer plywood "sandwiches" for the sculpture.

In the first step, we run plywood sheets into a wide glue spreader. This spreader is wider than what we regularly use for glulam. It was specially made for the plywood we glued extensively in hyperbolic paraboloid roof structures.

Next, the plywood is tightened onto forms while the glue cures.

Here's a close-up of the plywood. We planned carefully for this project, and were able to glue multiple three layer "sandwiches" at once by alternating the sides we spread glue onto.

When it is installed, the sculpture will look like this:

Image credit: 

Martin Puryear, Maquette for Big Bling, 2014​.​

Birch plywood, maple, 22-karat gold leaf, 40 1/4 x 9 1/8 x 40 in. (maquette); 40 x 10 x 38 ft. (projected size). 

Collection of the artist. © Martin Puryear. Photograph by Jamie Stukenberg, Professional Graphics

Stay tuned for more updates on the sculpture and make your plans now to visit NYC to see it in person.