Client: AdventHealth

Location: Tampa, FL, United States

Completion date: 2014

Artwork budget: $67,000

Project Team

fabricator

Anna Rothfuss

Derix Glasstudios

Industry Resource

Robert Christ

Lamberts Glasshütte

Overview

Heliocentric. This sculpture recalls several things- uplifting spirits, citrus, sunshine, ascending into light, and the orbits of planets. It is meant to provide a warm, reassuring distraction to those waiting in the Emergency Department.

Goals

The architect and hospital CEO planned on a hanging sculpture from the very beginning, which informed the entire process. They wanted to provide something for the emotional needs of those waiting in the Emergency Department.

Process

This was a complicated project with extensive collaboration. I built a model and worked through several concepts with the architect and Brian Adams, CEO of Florida Hospital, before arriving at the final design. I then worked closely with a glass engineer and the fabricator to figure out how to make the blown glass float safely without a frame, do the renderings and design the hardware. Finally, I interfaced with the construction team for the infrastructure to hold the artwork.

Additional Information

I was surprised to learn on this project that there are nearly no safety codes in the U.S. pertaining to suspending glass artwork over peoples' heads. I therefore built the artwork to conform to German safety codes.