Visitors to the Judicial Center building in St. Petersburg, Florida, now get to “Face the Jury” before entering, thanks to an innovative sculpture design from artist Douglas Kornfeld and metal fabrication services from Welding Works.

The installation, a $90,000 public arts project funded by Pinella Count, features 12 metal “Jury” chair fabrications, each situated on a grassy mound with view of a separate “Defendent” chair. Kornfeld designed each chair to be unique to symbolize a jury and the diversity of its members, but painted them the same color as a unifying feature. The “Defendant” chair was designed to be as generic as possible, emphasizing the fact that anyone could be a defendant. It has an unobstructed view of the “Juror” chairs, and is placed in a corner to encourage passers-by to sit and “face the jury.”

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AIR HEATER MODULE PROJECT

The production of new air heater modules for a power plant in eastern New York State is a good illustration of how Welding Works combines design and fabrication skills. Sixteen all carbon steel modules needed to be fabricated to fit into an old asbestos-insulated heater shell.

To prepare the shell, the customer cut out the bottom of the old heater and the nonoperational mechanisms were removed. The only materials provided to Welding Works for the project were the dimensions of the air-heater modules and the metal tubes that were to be installed in the modules. Welding Works was responsible for designing the support structure for the tubes, as well as the shipping skids for the modules.

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"TREE OF LIFE" SCULPTURE

During the summer of 2005, Welding Works helped artist Douglas Kornfeld make his vision of the “Tree of Life” come to life at Clinton Avenue Public School in New Haven, Connecticut. Commissioned by the city as part of its 1% for the Arts Commission, the laser cut steel sculpture stands 17’ tall and 17’ wide, and is just 1’ deep.

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1860s CENTRAL PARK FENCE RE-CREATION

The result of a Connecticut company's "Yankee Ingenuity" is now being appreciated by the thousands of people who visit and use New York City's Central Park every day. Welding Works, Inc. of Madison, Connecticut recently completed a brand-new fence to replicate the one that surrounded the Central Park Reservoir from 1862 until 1926. The original ornamental fence was unique in design and construction, unlike any fencing normally being produced today. Welding Works was challenged to "think outside of the box" to deal with the complexities of the project. They used reverse engineering and investigated technologies used in the past to develop a workable design, fabrication and installation plan.

The American Fence Association recently recognized this Welding Works project with the organization's Fence Project of the Year Award. Welding Works received this honor during FENCETECH'04, the Association's annual convention and trade exhibition, held in Orlando, Florida from February 25-27, 2004. According to the American Fence Association, "The Fence Project of the Year Award is bestowed upon the company that has demonstrated unique workmanship and exemplary knowledge of fence installation."

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In the fall of 2000, Welding Works had the opportunity to provide a quote for a very challenging project: the fabrication of over 500,000 pounds of large ductwork, to be completed by the end of December. We came in with a very competitive quote, and this longtime customer, an OEM supplier to the utility industries, called us in for a preaward meeting. We discussed whether this amount of work, which had not even been engineered yet, could be finished within the time frame specified. After the meeting, the customer thought that Welding Works offered the best chance of delivering on time, and we were issued a purchase order at the end of September.

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GREAT PLATTE RIVER ROAD ARCHWAY MONUMENT PROJECT

Welding Works, Inc. located in Madison, Connecticut, has just completed a major architectural ornamentation project soon to be shipped to the midwest and installed on the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument. Stretching across Interstate 80 in Kearney, Nebraska, this new 309-foot-long archway will honor the pioneers who traveled west, 150 years ago, on the Great Platte River Road, whose path the Interstate now follows.

Welding Works' role in this ambitious undertaking has been the fabrication of the symbolic exterior ornamentation for the structure. Designed by Kent Bloomer, the ornamentation includes two sets of 25-foot-high aluminum wings which will be mounted atop the north and south towers of the Archway. Wings were chosen by Bloomer to symbolize movement, transportation and communication. An aluminum horse leaps out of one set of wings, representing the Pony Express. All aluminum plate ornaments have been cleaned and will be left in their natural finish. Supporting the ornaments will be approximately six tons of sandblasted and painted structural steel, also fabricated by Welding Works.

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THE HAROLD WASHINGTON LIBRARY CENTER: ALUMINUM ROOF ORNAMENTS

For over a year, Welding Works was involved in an immense project: fabricating seven aluminum ornamental structures for Chicago's new Harold Washington Library Center. We fabricated over 90 individual ornaments, designed by Kent Bloomer, which we then assembled into 7 major structures that have just been installed at the Library's 4 corners and 3 entrances. These structures, which measure as wide as 75 feet and as tall as 40 feet, each consist of an aluminum support frame to which the individual assemblies are attached. We estimate that over 1 million welds were required to complete the project. In all, 100 tons of sheet, plate and structural aluminum were used. Aluminum was chosen for its strength and durability, as well as its comparatively light weight. 80,000 pounds of galvanized structural steel were also required to provide support for the ornamental structures.

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TONY SMITH SCULPTURE FOR VERMONT'S MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE CAMPUS

When the estate of renowned architect/sculptor Tony Smith (1918-1980) recently commissioned the fabrication of one of his designs, called SMOG, Lippincotts, LLC was contracted to coordinate all aspects of the project. This design, which consisted of 45 octahedrons, 15 top prisms, 22 base prisms, 21 cover plate assemblies, and custom-made fastening devices, would present many fabrication challenges.

In the end, Welding Works completed SMOG on budget and a month ahead of schedule. Shipping arrangements were made to Vermont, where it was erected on the campus of Middlebury College. Alfred Lippincott said, "Welding Works' willingness to respond to our challenges has been very encouraging. We were especially impressed with their attentiveness to details and already have them working on other Tony Smith designs for us."

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