Created by Crimson Collective, a group of Los Angeles-based artists, architects and designers, the sculpture was inspired by the Japanese art of origami and the legend that anyone who folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted any wish they desire. But the huge creature, called Ascension, was intended to be more than iconic symbolism or eye candy. It was designed with the real-world functions of providing Coachella concert-goers with shelter from the desert sun by day, while collecting solar energy to power its lighting system at night.
Building such a massive structure that could withstand the potentially extreme outdoor conditions in the Coachella Valley presented a challenge - one that was successfully met using aluminium trussing products from Global Truss.
A couple months before the concert, recalls Donald Hauger of Global Truss, he was approached by Crimson Collective founder Behn Samareh about materials for the project. "Behn had come up with this concept of a giant aluminium crane sculpture, and he pitched the idea to Coachella's investors, who gave the go-ahead," related Hauger.
The sculpture was constructed using the principle of tensional integrity, which is the balancing of tension and compression. More than 60 pieces of Global Truss's F44 16-inch square trussing make up the bird's skeleton, covered by 7,000sq.ft. of a white shade fabric for its soaring wings, which provide a shield from the sun while resembling the paper folds on an origami crane. An additional 50-plus pieces of Global Truss F34 I-Beam truss form the structures that house the solar panels on either side of the big bird. All clamps and universal junction blocks are also from Global.
(Jim Evans)
