“Presenting the 2017 CODAawards Top 100
The jury has voted, selecting the Top 100 most successful design projects that integrate commissioned art into an interior, architectural, or public space.”
Adrien Segal designed and Gizmo Art Production fabricated and installed this suspended sculpture, spanning three stories above two diagonal stairways. Over 10,000 feet of ball chain is draped above and around the stairways, hung as a meandering aluminum river, following the flow of movement and people in the space. The sculpture is a physical representation of 1,072 water users. The length of chain correlates to amount of water. People walk through and experience the sculpture to gain an intuitive understanding of the immense amount of water allocated for use in California.The permanent installation is 30’ high and spans the 16’x32’ opening.
Adrien Segal proposed California Water Rights to the client and developed the design using data from the agency that regulates water rights users in California. To realize the large-scale piece, Adrien hired Gizmo Art Production to fabricate and install the hanging sculpture. The aluminum river panels were water jet cut and welded together, with holes from which the ball chain was hung in a particular order. The sculpture was hung from a truss system at Gizmo’s shop where Adrien and Gizmo’s team hung over 1,000 individual chain strands by hand.
