Clark College STEM Building · Vancouver, Washington
Exterior ring fabrication
Western Iron Works
Installed
2016
The artist’s idea
What gravity did to the rings
Adam Kuby started with matching forms and let gravity change them.
The STEM Building’s drop tower, used for gravity experiments, inspired Drop. For the exterior work, Kuby used drops from 20, 30, 40 and 50 feet to deform the Möbius rings.
The suspended rings are arranged from the least deformed at the top to the most deformed below. Their changing shapes make the effect of impact visible. These five rings form the outdoor part of a larger installation that also extends inside the building.
Looking up through the hanging rings and their reflections in the windows.
Our work
The rings and bearing pockets
The rings needed to turn while hanging in place.
We fabricated and welded the Möbius strips and machined the bearing pockets. The welded assemblies hold the bearings that allow the suspended rings to rotate in the wind.
Fabrication, welding and machining for the five exterior rings by Western Iron Works.
Project video
See the rings move
Adam Kuby’s 32-second video shows three views of the finished installation.
