Custom metal sculpture we fabricated in Lansing, MI.
The Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA for short https://www.cata.org/, has been serving the greater Lansing area since 1972. One of their core values is to not just serve the community but to also partner with local people in the community to do great things and that’s why we were thrilled when they reached out to us to design and fabricate a unique bus stop in Southwest Lansing!
A few years back CATA introduced their “Beyond the Bus” program which partners with local artists to add local art pieces and amenities to bus stops throughout the city. They approached us about creating something for their stop located near the intersection of W Holmes and Pleasant Groove and we were up for the challenge!
We decided on a two part design, a custom fabricated bench along with a large sculptural wind screen.
For the bench we started with 1.5″ cold rolled steel tubing. We cut that down at 60 degree angles and welded the pieces together to create 19 equilateral triangles. We then used our ban saw to shave off a corner of each triangle and a flap wheel grinder to blend all the welds. Finally we took a heavy steel baseplate and welded the triangles to it spaced equally apart.
For the wind screen we used the same 1.5″ square tubing along with some laser cut steel plates that we designed in house. Due to the unique shape of the wind screen we had to be very meticulous about measuring and cutting all different angles required for each piece to ensure it all fit together properly.
With all the fabrication done, the bench and wind screen were dropped off at Clockwork Powder Coating to get painted in a vibrant blue.
Besides the fact that the bench and wind screen were extremely heavy the installation was a breeze. We had a fresh pad of concrete to put them on so all we had to do was anchor them down with some 6″ lag screws.
It’s projects like this that we really take pride in. Not only were we able to do something creative and unique with our designs but we were able to partner with a pillar of the community in creating something that’s both functional and adds some art to an otherwise empty spot!
