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On the evening of December 31st, 2011, Lionel Ohayon, President of iCrave design of Manhattan, gathered with some of his closest friends and respected colleagues to celebrate and reflect the challenges, opportunities, and accomplishments that 2011 had given them. Not only to celebrate the New Year but to also unveil a new art installation that he had purchased to have on permanent display on his vacation estate in Catskill, New York. With five hours left in the year, the Robert James team made the last electrical connection and brought the 101-piece nest to life on its newest and final home. We are very-very honored to have this project installed on such an amazing and well-loved piece of property; the memories and history that will be collected with this collaboration will be insanely rich.
Ménage à trois is a figurative project of a steel birds nest cradling (3) glass mosaic eggs; this piece was recently built in spring/summer of 2009 and showcased at the 2009 Burningman festival. The massive sculpture was fabricated in numerous phases in three different locations: Our Potrero Hill facilities, Blackburn Welding and Fabrications in Reno, Nevada, and our staging facility, also in Reno, NV. Design for the project began in December 2008 and was completed 9 months later in September of 2009.
Material selection and purchase was a lengthy and important process for this piece. The steel was intended to have a rusted, weathered look for a dramatic contrast between the white alkaline floor of the black rock desert and the bird’s nest. Locating structurally sound salvaged material with the desired pipe diameters, wall thickness, and accurate lineal feet was extremely challenging; we acquired steel from all corners of California and Northern Nevada to adequately supply stock for Ménage à trois. The polystyrene used to create the eggs was also a salvaged item and was collected from businesses and job-sites all over the San Francisco Bay Area.
Once the materials had been acquired, the lengthy process of cutting and fitting to the nest and egg fabrication began. The nest started with 25,000lbs of rusted .188-.250 wall pipe; pipe diameters range from 12” to 5” and totaled almost a ½ mile in length. All flanges were fabricated in-house, all cutting was done by hand with torch, all finish welds were MIG welded indoors, and the fasteners are #6 rated for high shear values. The nest when completed consists of 102 pieces, has a footprint of 1,400sf., and stands about 22’ tall.
All the eggs started with a structural steel backbone and stand followed by a solid polystyrene core that was applied using a special Styrofoam adhesive. Once the foam had cured, each egg was shaped using a combination of chainsaws and mini grinders, and then the electrical was roughed in. The eggs then received a two layer Dry-vit system using a heavy fiber fabric; this system, once hardened, was so durable that we could swing a hammer at the egg and it performed as if we were pounding on a 4” thick concrete slab. The broken mirror mosaic was then applied leaving space for the blown glass detail to the stars; a poly-blend grout was applied following the mosaic placement. LED’s were installed last using a stainless steel mounting plate and rubber grommet.
Transport of the nest takes an entire tractor-trailer. Assembling the piece took (4) men 5 days to complete with the help of crane, variable reach, man-lift, and one very loud sound system playing beats. (18) flood lights were buried under the steel for accent lighting at night. This project was very well received and well climbed on.
BASIC STATS
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