The artist and sculptor Dale Chihuly is famous for creating exuberant works of glass art from the very small to the enormous. His work is in museums, botanical gardens, corporate buildings, luxury hotels and even homes round the globe.
You might wonder how on earth the whole notion of incorporating this type of bit occurs, particularly in a house. In the case of this house here, as in many of the best bits of layout, it had been an architect and also a homeowner just chatting away, discussing the project. One thing led to another, and all a sudden, the architect said, “Let’s talk to Chihuly.” The owner grabbed the idea, and away they went.
See how the combination of an exceptional artist, a creative architect and a adventurous owner (with an additional half million dollars or so in the funding) can lead to something truly awesome.
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If your ultimate splurge is really a Chihuly masterpiece, then you’re going to want to get started early to incorporate everything will be required. You will also need to accept the artist is going to be the boss, particularly if it’s a artist as accomplished as Dale Chihuly. Luis Jauregui, the architect for this home, says “Chihuly takes over the process, including the way the light is going to wind up.”
Whilst giving up some layout control was difficult for Jauregui, he knew it was the right thing to do. Unsurprisingly, the Chihuly people were hired early on for the installment of the 19-foot-long piece.
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A full size mockup of this stairway was constructed at the Chihuly Studio in Washington to make sure that the scale of the finished piece could be just right to your room.
Jauregui’s company did all the home’s interior design and structure, which assisted in organizing the setup, from making sure the roof and ceiling could encourage the sculpture (yes, there’s a great deal of steel piling up there) to ensuring the owners’ children could not reach out and catch the item.
The sculpture’s location, in the stair hallway just off the entrance, was selected for maximum effect. The item fills the room with energy and light.
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Each of the couple hundred pieces was carefully hand wrapped and packed, then shipped in the Chihuly Studio in 2 18-wheelers. Once on site, the pieces were unwrapped and prepared for installation.
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A metal framework was initially hung in the ceiling to encourage the glass pieces. Then each piece of glass was attached onto the framework. Everything, in the boxes that the pieces were into the pieces, was labeled. This gave the two project managers in the studio that the ability to control and direct the four installers concerning where each piece went. It took these six employees from the studio about a week to construct the entire sculpture.
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No wonder, given that the density of all those glass pieces.
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Since the piece took shape and the employees got nearer to finishing the sculpture, it became apparent just how special the bit is.
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When the scaffolding came down, the work was stable in its new house.
The stair hall needed to be entirely completed before the setup; it was crucial that when the scaffolding came down, no employees could be around to potentially damage the glass.
Of course, that begs the question about what happens when a few touch-up painting is necessary.