Danny Lane’s sculpture ‘Borealis’ at the Renaissance Center
April 19, 2007
Reflective Distortion, photo by rckrawczykjr.
Ralph writes: Detail of a glass wall within the entrance space of the Renaissance Center with a happy little cross process filter applied for good measure.
The wall is part of the Danny Lane sculpture Borealis. As the Kinetic Curtain in Glass Magazine explains, Borealis is one of the largest glass sculptures in the world:
Borealis comprises two enormous walls of undulating glass that measure 47 and 50 feet long, and weigh nearly 50,000 pounds each. A single wall contains about 1,100 43-pound panels of annealed float glass (auto safety glass of course) 4 inches wide, 11⁄2 inches thick and 221⁄2 feet long. The panels stand on end side-by-side and lean at different angles up to 71⁄2 degrees from center to create a wave effect. If laid end-to-end, the panels would extend 9.4 miles.
The article is pretty interesting and details the engineering challenges in building this amazing work of art. You can also see more from Danny Lane at his web site.
June 24, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Hi, Please contact me about your photos of Borealis, Ren Cen.
Regards, Danny
July 13, 2008 at 8:37 pm
I was so underwhelmed by the sculpture because they described it as the tallest “vertical” glass sculpture in the world and I would probably call it “horizontal”. I was looking for this 100 foot type thing hanging from the ceiling or something because it was described as “vertical” which to me meant floor to ceiling.
December 13, 2009 at 9:03 am
[...] the GM Wintergarden (above) and shops, the GM Plaza and Riverwalk on the Detroit River, “Borealis” (see below), the tallest vertical art glass sculpture in the world. Car buffs will enjoy [...]
March 6, 2012 at 11:13 pm
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