OCTOBER 2022 | NEWS
KETTEN WÄLDER LIFTS 24T ‘SOLID SKY’ INTO NEW YORK LOBBY
K
etten Wälder has partnered with Berlin artist Alicja Kwade, to produce a supporting structure to lift her 24 ton
‘Solid Sky’ sculpture into the lobby of a New York skyscraper in Madison Avenue. Two stainless steel, e-polished
cromox chains were used for the project including chains with a 32mm-wire diameter for the circumferential chain, and 10 x 16m chains for the suspension. The blue sphere, made from a 40 ton cuboidal block ‘Azul do Macaubás’, was cut at Macaubás quarries in Brazil; and shaped into a sphere at the Silesian workshop of stonemason Josef Gajek in Ciasna, Poland. Ketten Wälder has been developing
and producing safety-relevant stainless steel chains and components under its brand cromox since 2005. “The stone sphere with its strong
physical presence (Ø 8’ 2”, 48,000 lbs) seems to deny gravity ...” Kwade said in her pitch for tender to win the project. “Although we are proud to realise extraordinary requests, this was a real challenge for us,” said Franz Maximilian Wälder, MD, Ketten Wälder. “The requirements involved not only stability, strength,
Q Berlin artist Alicja Kwade.
12 | October 2022 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
and safety but the aesthetics of the overall construction and in particular the connecting elements to the sphere were hugely demanding.” Roman Auer, technical head, Ketten
Wälder, added, a single blue Azul do Macaubás sphere now hangs from 10 stainless steel chains attached to the ceiling of the entrance hall. “What seems to be suspended in
air in the foyer of the former Sony administration centre USA and AT&T, is a construction where it was clear right from the beginning that “extreme forces act on a chain and sphere,” said Auer. “Not only the enormous weight of the sculpture itself – 24 tons – but also the resulting forces which had to be secured. “The project involved numerous tests including 24-ton dynamic fatigue tests in our inhouse laboratory, as well as tensile and bending tests, with achieved breaking strengths beyond 160 tons – the basis of reliable quality. The relevant requirements were predefined by Ingenieurbüro Art Engineering.” Each chain made from a primary basic
material is individually bent in several stages and subsequently integrated into the chain itself, followed by an automatic welding process. “Our chains are welded together without any filler material in a highly precise process according to proven finishing methods,” added Auer.
Subsequently, the individual components are deburred and calibrated to size with a predefined force. The finished chain must be able to hold a multiple of the quoted load capacity – with a safety factor of at least 1:4. The static calculations, tests and
trial suspensions showed, “that already one of the 16mm chains guaranteed sufficient stability. Not only was the 20m long suspension chains subjected to trial loads and laser measuring under load in Bad Endorf, but the sculpture itself was tested with the complete chain suspension at the workshop in Ciasna. Not only was safety of utmost
priority. The overall appearance of the sculpture had to fulfil the highest aesthetic standards. The circumferential chain of the sphere should be as close as possible to the equator. A further challenge was the points where the suspension and circumferential chains met and were linked. These points of connection manufactured by Ketten Wälder, had to be incorporated into the overall design – milled, welded, ground, and polished. The overall artistic impression of the sphere was that of ‘a baby in a gentle slumber in a bed of chains’. As if gravity is insignificant.● Ketten Wälder is exhibiting its CDAW-10, COSL-13 safety eye hook, CCH-200 chain hoist, CHT-200 and 18mm/26mm chain slings at LEEA’s LiftEx October 5-6, 2002.
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