Client: Commissioned by the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation
Location: Des Moines, IA, United States
Completion date: 2013
Project Team
Artist
Jun Kaneko
Client
City of Des Moines
Architect
Paul Mankins, Principal
Substance Architecture
Public Art Agent
M. Jessica Rowe, Director
Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation
Industry Resource
AWS of Omaha, NE
Industry Resource
Army Corps of Engineers
Other
James W. Hubbell, Jr and Helen H. Hubbell Charitable Foundation
Other
Trudy and G. David Hurd, Michele and Barry Griswell, Lynette and Kurt Rasmussen
Other
Bravo Greater Des Moines
Fabricator
Derix Glasstudios
Overview
Jun Kaneko created an artwork for the face of the Municipal Pump Station as a backlit glass mural, 15’-5” high by 21’ wide and lit by LED lights. The 21 individual glass panels are installed as a structural glazing façade.
Goals
The City of Des Moines integrated a Pump Station structure into the aesthetic of the Riverwalk.
"Expansion" creates a unique public art piece on the face of a functional building. The Glass Wall shines both during the day and at night when lit up by thousands of LED lights. With the bold colors it corresponds to the clay sculptures “Dangos” on the opposite sidewalk also created by Kaneko.
Process
Hundreds of stripes of hand blown glass with a variation of 45 different colors have been cut with exactly straight lines. Kaneko chose every individual color for the composition. All hand-blown glass stripes have been laminated evenly onto safety glass panels with the liquid lamination technique. Special aluminium profiles have been applied to the back of the glass panels to affix them to the structure on site.
Additional Information
The Principal Riverwalk project features lighted, landscaped public spaces, world-class public art and unique pedestrian bridges and pathways that connect 300 miles of Central Iowa trails. The project was a gift to the City of Des Moines in honor of the 125th anniversary of the Principal Financial Group. "Expansion" [created by Kaneko as part of Riverwalk's civic improvement] is designed to move Des Moines a step closer to becoming a destination for public art, said Paul Mankins, president of the Public Art Foundation board and principal of Substance Architecture. For more information, visit http://dsmpublicartfoundation.org.