Client: City of Albquerque

Overview

Bosque Rhythm – four sections of decorative fencing that were designed and built for the pedestrian walkway and sidewalk along Alcade Place SW bordering the Tingley Beach Aquatic Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Four sections of fence – 216' x 4' – hand-forged steel pipe and square steel tubing.

Goals

I was part of a public art consulting team that was charged with designing functional upgrades for different areas within the City of Albuquerque. Because the Tingley Beach Aquatic Park was being upgraded the City wanted artistic functional features to compliment the new roads and walkways. My design was selected by the Public Art Program and the Municipal Development Department. My goal was to create a functional design that complemented and showcased the natural beauty of the stately cottonwoods along the bosque and the vitality of the Rio Grande river. The linear dynamics of the rail design partnered with the ever changing light create interesting shadow play throughout the day. The monies for design and fabrication of this project were made possible via funds that had been allocated for site improvements and the installation was coordinated with the Horner Construction road construction crew.

Process

The design for the fence started with concept drawings that I presented to the public art consulting team that I was a part of which was sponsored by the Albuquerque Public Art Program. Once my design was selected and the budget approved I then coordinated the technical aspects of the drawings with fabricator Ferrall Clem from Custom Wrought Iron & Welding and the project engineers. The fencing had to be designed as a traffic rail that would withstand vehicle damage and prevent traffic and pedestrians from falling into the acequia ditch. It also had to meet all ADA standards. I worked closely with fabricators Ferrall and Jason Clem in their welding shop. A template was set up on the shop table where I used chalk to draw each of the different tree designs. Ferrall would then heat, bend and cut each pipe piece to match the drawing. The linear water shapes were bent in a pipe bender then all sections welded in place. The patina surface was sprayed and hand-painted on to the steel pipe to create a unique surface. The installation of the sections of fence were coordinated with Horner Construction.