← Back

Gearhart Hall Courtyard Curvahedra

A permanent 12-foot diameter steel sculpture installed in the Gearhart Hall courtyard at the University of Arkansas. In collaboration with Emily Baker.

2018-01-01

Method
plasma cut
Material
steel
Year
2021
Dimensions
12 ft diameter
With
Emily Baker

A 12-foot steel sphere installed in the courtyard of Gearhart Hall at the University of Arkansas, dedicated on 15 October 2021. The form is a scaled-up version of the Curvahedra system, brought to architectural scale through Zip-Form construction techniques, I developed with Emily Baker, and fabricated by Alex Cogbill at Modus Studio, Fayetteville.

Curved steel elements clamped to a welding table mid-assembly, welder in the background, chain hoist hanging to the right
Fabrication at Modus Studio, welding the curved steel elements together

The underlying mathematics is relates to the Gauss-Bonnet theorem and the relatively parallel (or Bishop) frame on a curve, that is used to make the beams.

The project grew out of an Honors College Signature Seminar titled “Place in Mind” (August 2018). The sculpture concept was developed in collaboration with Carl Smith (landscape architecture), with honors students from engineering, art, biology, geology, architecture, and landscape architecture contributing throughout. Emily Baker (architecture) helped solve the key construction challenge: designing an internal spine and jig system, the Zip-Form method, that allows efficient fabrication of curved forms from flat components. Structural analysis was provided by Arup Engineers, civil engineering for the ground installation by Gavin Smith, and installation led by Chris Baribeau of Modus Studio.

Funding came from former Chancellor David and Jane Gearhart, who gave it as a gift to the university on David Gearhart’s retirement. “The sculpture is beautiful,” Gearhart said, “but also embodies sophisticated ideas about geometry and space.”

The rust-red Gearhart Hall Curvahedra seen through mature trees from across the University of Arkansas campus
The sculpture in the Gearhart Hall courtyard, seen from the University of Arkansas campus

Coverage: University of Arkansas News — campus art project lecture (2018) · University of Arkansas News — a bold proposal (2019) · University of Arkansas News — installation (2021) · University of Arkansas News — dedication (2021) · University of Arkansas News — the beauty of mathematics (2022) · Fulbright REVIEW (2022) · University of Arkansas News — neighbouring GeoLab installation (2024) · Short Takes: Courtyard Curvahedra (video) · University of Arkansas A+ · NWA Homepage

Related

Curvahedra Medal

A medal created with Eugene Sargent for the University of Arkansas Honors College's Distinguished Faculty Award in 2024/

Curvahedra

A modular construction system to explore the geometry of curvature.

Sculpting Metal Curvahedra

An Art Department piece in MAA Focus tracing the design process for the Gearhart Hall Curvahedra.