Установка световой скульптуры Flow в центре города отложена из-за необходимости усилить конструкцию для безопасности

Installation of a new light sculpture downtown is delayed while engineers and the project’s artist work to ensure public safety, the city’s Public Art Commission was told Wednesday. Although few elements of Flow currently can be seen in the downtown alley, designer James Lucey is working to fabricate materials off-site while engineers make final decisions on adding anchors to walls in the walkway, 77 Steps committee chair Alexandra Hall said. The city is working with engineers from local firm Apex Consulting and Surveying. Flow is replacing 77 Steps in the alley between 113 and 127 W. Berry St. The city’s Public Works department removed LED strips, tubes and computer elements of 77 Steps early this month. A dedication for Flow that was scheduled for Aug. 19 was postponed because of installation delays caused by mid-month storms. On Aug. 14, the city said more time was needed for Lucey to ensure the system that anchors the kinetic sculpture to the alley’s walls was properly installed. Those checks have since revealed the need for additional supports. “We now know that it will need to have a few additional anchors in order to support the structure,” Hall told the commission Wednesday. “So they’ll be using some of the existing hardware as well as ... new anchors.” It had not yet been determined how many more anchors will need to be ordered. The cost of the additional supports will come out of the artist’s contingency fund as part of the project’s $100,000 budget, Hall said. Hall did not have an updated completion date for the project, but said she hoped the piece will be fully installed for a dedication in late September. Material manufacturing delays pushed back original hopes of installing the kinetic sculpture in the spring. LEDs will create 1,200 individually controllable points of light in Flow, Lucey previously told The Journal Gazette. The sculpture will be suspended about 12 to 18 feet above ground along the 150-foot length of the alley. “Our priority right now is to make sure the sculpture is going to be safe for the public,” Hall said. A small panel of Kaynemaile architectural mesh was passed around for commission members to examine during the meeting. The lightweight mesh is made from interlocking polycarbonate rings. Lights mounted on the alley’s walls will illuminate the mesh, Hall said, and additional lights can be woven through the structure. The lights will react to pedestrian movement in the alley, and the installation can be synced with music during events in the space. New speakers have already been installed. Lucey is using three shades of blue Kaynemaile to represent the city’s three rivers, Hall told The Journal Gazette after the meeting. Lucey has been working in a local parking garage area to form the mesh into larger panels that will be hung in the alley. The 77 Steps alley – which will retain its name after Flow is installed – has been closed to pedestrian traffic since early August to accommodate the work. On Wednesday afternoon, infrastructure including supports and wires from 77 Steps could be seen stretched above the walkway. Originally installed in 2020, 77 Steps included more than 300 tubes containing color-changing LED strips. The light installation had an expected life span of five years and endured heavy damage from storms. A prospectus for the new project noted that wind regularly reaches 10 to 20 miles per hour in the alley. Materials in Flow were selected to better interact with the wind, and they have a 10-year warranty. Flow is funded by the Public Art Commission, which draws its budget from the Public Art Giveback Program. The program requires developers of city-supported projects to create public art on their property or put money into the Public Art Fund equal to 1% of the estimated value of the economic incentive up to a maximum of $100,000.