Fountain by Leo Villareal in the Kansas City International Airport is an array of delicate stainless steel parabolic hoops paying homage to The City of Fountains. The tallest hoops are 24ft high housing thousands of LED nodes individually programmed to evoke flowing water with a cascading interplay of light. The polished mirrored surface of the hoops and base allow for a unique experience from every angle and welcomes visitors to the airport gateway.
At 24′ tall and 4″ wide at the base, the hoops exhibit an extreme slenderness ratio. To achieve the weightless and towering aesthetic, the width and depth of the hoop cross section taper to less than 1″, just wide enough to house the LED nodes. This geometric gesture optimizes the stiffness performance of the form by minimizing mass at the top of the hoop where weight contributes to movement and vibration resonance.
To push the hoop slenderness as far as possible while maintaining suitable stiffness, the geometry of the tapering parabolic form was parametrically evaluated in Rhino3D and Grasshopper to rapidly optimize the section properties. With the hoop dimensions set, 4th State Metals developed the exact geometry to be fabricated in a detailed SolidWorks model which was used for final solid element FE analysis.
The hoops are clustered and therefore provide limited access to repair the 37,824 LED nodes in the event of a burn out. In order to facilitate maintenance of the piece, each hoop needs to be accessible by being removed from the main mass of the piece. Custom scissor jacks were designed in collaboration with 4th State Metals that allow each hoop to be individually lowered away from the central pedestal for inspection and repair.
A solid element FEA of the custom scissor jacks was performed using the 4th State Metals fabrication model throughout the range of movement of the hoops to ensure the sensitive LED components would be protected during service and maintenance.
PROJECT TEAM
Artist: Leo Villareal Studio, Fabricator: 4th State Metals
