Wednesday 21 October 2015

The Floating Piers

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It is “The Floating Piers” Christo's first fantastical outdoor installation since 2005. For 16 days starting June 18, on Italy’s tiny Lake Iseo, the public will be able to walk for nearly two miles on water, atop 200,000 floatable cubes covered in glittering, dahlia-yellow fabric fashioned from tightly woven nylon. “They will feel the movement of the water under foot,” Christo said. “It will be a bit like walking on a water bed.”
 
About a half-million people are expected to visit “The Floating Piers” its opening timed to coincide with the last two days of Art Basel. The project is estimated to cost about $11 million. Scientists, structural engineers and divers, along with teams of construction workers, have been involved to see how the floating piers would look.
 
Starting in December, divers will place 140 five-ton anchors up to 300 feet deep in Lake Iseo. Right now, about one million square feet of fabric is being specially woven in a factory in Germany. The final installation is expected to take a week and will involve a team of some 600 workers.
 
Via: http://www.nytimes.com

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