Marlene Hilton Moore approached Heavy Industries when she was commissioned to create a public artwork for the walkway between The Met and Encore condos in Toronto. Using digital models of the walkway Marlene created a concept that depicted sculpted trees in bas-relief fashion.
Working with Marlene through our discovery phase we explored multiple design options for cost savings and eventually concluded the best opportunity for efficiencies would be to create just one tree and mold and cast multiple copies of it. While this would achieve the most cost savings for our client, the major problem with the multiples idea was that we didn’t want every tree to look exactly the same. To overcome this shortfall we designed every main branch as a separate item that could be configured differently around the trunks of the trees; the result was the cost savings of producing multiples while making every tree unique.
With our execution plan in place, Marlene set to work on sculpting a maquette and our industrial designers began modeling the fastening mechanisms for mounting the bas-relief trees to the walls as well as the system that would be cast in place in the trunks and the branches so that they could be assembled.
Marlene’s task of sculpting the maquette was extremely challenging; not only did she have to create an aesthetically pleasing bas-relief tree, but she had to ensure that it would look good with a variety of branch configurations. Marlene needed to measure the size of each branch to ensure that it would fit in every canopy space. Furthermore, the base of each branch needed to be of the same diameter (with the division on an appropriate angle) to configure around the trunks seamlessly.
When Marlene’s maquette was complete, we scanned it with our CNC laser scanner and created a digital model of the tree. Using the digital model, our industrial designers were able to calculate the expected loads that the cantilevered branches would be under. Using that information, they were able to specify a suitable armature material and joint connection. Furthermore, using the digital model, they were able to specify exactly how the armature material would need to be bent so that it would fit inside of the full sized branches.
Using the digital model created by the laser scanner, our CNC milling equipment milled the shape of the tree out of low density EPS foam. The photo that you see here was taken after the milled pieces of the tree were assembled and visited by our team of extremely talented sculptors. This was the first opportunity to see the tree at full size.
With Marlene’s approval of the shape at full size, we hardcoated the EPS foam with a thin layer of polyurethane to provide some rigidity to the tree. From there, Marlene led a team of our sculptors and covered the entire tree with a proprietary sculpting compound. Using texture stamps made from the bark of a real tree and an array of other sculpting tools the sculptors gave the tree an extremely realistic sculpted layer of bark.
Once Marlene was happy with the texture of the trees, they were primed and crated for delivery to our partnered roto-cast shop.
The branches were then roto-cast. Roto-casting essentially involves creating a mold completely around a shape out of a material that will replicate its exact surface texture. The mold is then released off of the shape and reassembled (empty) with a small hole in it. From there, a fiber infused resin (very similar properties to the resins used in fiberglass) is poured into the hole, the hole is plugged and the entire mold is put onto an apparatus that can rotate the mold in every direction. As the mold rotates, the resin evenly coats the entire inner surface of the mold creating an exact replica. With this process, it is possible to add various layers with different properties for options like additional strength or flexibility. The advantage to this process as opposed to using fiberglass in open faced molds is that the cast part comes out in one structurally sound piece (that is made from a material that is very comparable to fiberglass) as opposed to two halves that require extensive labour to be assembled and seamed.
Once all of the pieces were cast, they were coated with an industrial grade metallic paint. We have full mix and tint stations of a variety of brands of paint so we worked very closely with Marlene to ensure that the selected swatch was exactly what she was looking for.
The trees were fully installed by a team provided by Heavy Industries. If you want to check out the trees, you can find them at 21 Carlton Street in Toronto, Canada.
