I just completed the final permit drawings for the wall and as you can see the design has changed from the initial concept of having a single, monolithic wall with bottles stacked on top of each other to a more modular wall with square segments. As our deadline approached, we were able to calculate the total number of bottles likely to be in the wall. With 12,000 bottles, I went to a single layer layout with each segment in a frame to allow individual unique designs. This allows us to vary the density of the bottles used to accommodate more or less bottles. The design also gives structural support and stability to the bottles for handling and the final installation.
We are also using a low-voltage lighting system with 20 or 50 watt lights mounted at the base of each panel. This should alleviate the problems of getting a separate electrical permit, although the lights may not be as bright. We are doing some testing now on the lights to make sure we can get the effect we need at night.
Overall I am pleased with the way the design evolved. Outdoor installations are inherently problematic because of the weather (rain, wind, sun, heat) but with the challenge comes the opportunity to build something significant. I’ll be trying to maintain a schedule of 1 panel per day so that we can finish in time for a May 2 opening. More construction details are forthcoming, so if this kind of stuff interests you, stay tuned!
Photojournalist Mark Clanton from WJXT was in the studio this morning to film a brief segment on the project. Mark took a lot of time to learn about the project and then to shoot around the studio and the wall construction. If there is a link to the segment I’ll be sure to post it. Right now I’m encouraging people to promote the website to anyone they know in the military because this project is for them. And to save the date May 2 Art Walk for our planned opening event. We’re getting excited!
Thanks to Bill Yates for the pics.
The Wall is designed to be built in segments, each one a 66″ x 66″ frame surrounding the bottles. This will make the segments easier to handle once we pre-assemble them in the studio. I working on 3 initial frames and hope to have them done by the weekend. With the current estimated bottle count, we will need 25 frames to complete the project. I’ll be posting more details as the construction proceeds.
It’s time to start building the wall. The bottles are in and we have less than 2 months to get things done. More later on the design. I’ve been working on a few different ideas and finally settled on one that incorporates a 66″ x 66″ wrap-around frame for each wall segment. This will make it easier to build, setup, and install. My art partner-in-crime Dolf James let me use his table saw to rip some 2x4s, but as you can see he took control. Maybe he didn’t want to risk having me lose a body part. Thanks Dolf, we’ve got about 25 more of these to make. It’s going to be cool!
