Location: Downtown Minneapolis

Nimbus is a sculpture commissioned by the City of Minneapolis as an extension of the Nicolett Mall redesign by James Corner Field Operations.  The piece is both derivative of the extrinsic site forces and projective of its own intrinsic desires.

It is derivative in the way in which it serves as a knuckle between the primary axis of Nicolett Street and the Atrium of the Central Library.  The piece sits at the intersection of the two and transforms the elliptical base geometry of the Theater in the Round into a levitating figure which frames both sky and library through its oculus.  

In terms of the intrinsic desires the pieces aspires to create a visceral experience of light, form, and phenomena.  The piece is constructed like an airplane wing to cantilever 45 feet over the sidewalk and Theater in the Round to frame a threshold for pedestrians passing through it while simultaneously creating a destination of embrasure for those whose pause and inhabit the Theater.  The piece will be visually porous and will flood the site at night with a halo of light, creating a glow and uncanny ambiance.

The piece will be constructed from weathering steel (Corten Steel) for three reasons.  First in order to set up a material dialog with the Ptolemy’s Wedge sculpture on the library plaza by Beverly Pepper which is also made of weathering steel.  Second to speak to the post-industrial condition of the contemporary American city.  And lastly for practical reasons that the material is self-healing and self-sealing which is critical in this highly trafficked and high impact zone in front of the library.  

Collaboration with the Integrated Design Studio at Uzun + Case Engineers.

Status:  In Fabrication.  Installation scheduled for fall of 2018.

Design + Fabrication Team:

Tristan Al-Haddad

Denise ‘Seven’ Bailey

Thomas Clarkson

Bennett Crawford

Tiara Hill

Helena Kang

Sean Miller

Miriam Robinson

Jane Thompson

Madison Vail