Tern Wings Sculpture

Tern Wings is a steel polished sculpture part of the newly funded ‘Bord Waalk’ along the Amble coastline. Artist and designer Jon Voss said thepiece is inspired by the endangered species the Roseate Tern bird which habitat just off the coast of Amble. The four meter structure is made up of marine grade stainless steel that has been hand beaten and finished with seven different types of polish.

It was necessary to design the structure for the required robustness for its setting of a public space. The elements of the sculpture has been designed as stainless steel. The structural support elements were designed to take the bending forces acting at the base due to eccentricity of the sculpture. The sculpture itself is formed as a continuous piece and forces will transfer the arch structure as an axial compression.

Due to bending, there is a tensile force acting through the base plate, which transferred through the stainless - steel bars set into the foundation. This induces a tensile force through the concrete. One of the challenges we faced was lifting the structure due to its eccentricity. We proposed to lift the sculpture using four lifting eyes to frame the corners to provide stability to the sculpture. The lifting frame was constructed from UC sections, to provide support to the structure and to provide additional mass to the lifting frame to prevent any rotation during lifting.

Awards: ISructE Structural Artistry Award Winner

Architects: Jon Voss