Ed Carpenter

Artwork

MATERIALS: Steel, aluminum, laminated dichroic glass, stainless steel cables and hardware, lighting
DIMENSIONS: 76’ x 99’ x 34’
DATE: 2012

LOCATION: 8th St. west to 15th St.

RENDERINGS: Oanh Tran
PROJECT ADMINISTRATION: Arleen  Daugherty
ENGINEERING: Grant Davis and KPFF, Portland, OR
STEEL AND ALUMINUM FABRICATION:  Puritan Manufacturing, Omaha, NE
GLASS FABRICATION: Glass Strategies, Portland, OR and Oldcastle Glass, Johnston, IA
ERECTION: Davis Erection, Omaha, NE
GlLASSS INSTALLATION: Keystone Glass, Omaha, NE
ELECTRICAL: Bluffs Electric, Council Bluffs, IA
LIGHTING CONSULTANTS: Doug Lamson and Steve Hefferan
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Greg Peterson

For Gateway, Artist Ed Carpenter worked with a large design team to create a landmark bridge that will serve as an anchor for the north side of downtown Council Bluffs, Iowa, creating a memorable sense of place. From the east or the west, the new Broadway Viaduct design frames dramatic views, suggesting a sunrise or the interweaving of different parts of the community.

The experience of passing over the half-mile-long viaduct is enhanced by the incorporation of 111 ascending, tilted, and brightly painted light poles at 40’ intervals on either side. The gateway itself frames dramatic views to the east and west, and may suggest a sunrise or the interweaving of disparate parts of the community. Fifty tons of steel were incorporated in the structure spanning the four lanes of US Highway 6 as it passes through the heart of Council Bluffs.

The transformation of this central passageway into a memorable, welcoming gateway was the result of a three way partnership involving the Iowa Department of Transportation, the City of Council Bluffs and the Iowa West Foundation.

Biography

Ed Carpenter is an artist specializing in large-scale public installations ranging from architectural sculpture to infrastructure design. Since 1973 he has completed scores of projects for public, corporate, and ecclesiastical clients. Working internationally from his studio in Portland, Oregon, USA, Carpenter collaborates with a variety of expert consultants, sub-contractors, and studio assistants. He personally oversees every step of each commission, and installs them himself with a crew of long-time helpers, except in the case of the largest objects, such as bridges.

While an interest in light has been fundamental to virtually all of Carpenter’s work, he also embraces commissions that require new approaches and skills. This openness has led to increasing variety in his commissions and a wide range of sites and materials. Recent projects include interior and exterior sculptures, bridges, towers, and gateways. His use of glass in new configurations, programmed artificial lighting, and unusual tension structures have broken new ground in architectural art. He is known as an eager and open-minded collaborator as well as technical innovator.

Carpenter is grandson of a painter/sculptor, and step-son of an architect, in whose office he worked summers as a teenager. He studied architectural glass art under artists in England and Germany during the early 1970’s.

Information on his projects and a video about his methods can be found at:

http://www.edcarpenter.net/

Audio/Video