In spring 2016 Michael was approached by SAIT to come up with a statue to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the school. They charged Michael with the task of taking their flat 2D centennial logo & making it into a giant landmark for the school. After many iterations hit the cutting room floor Michael came up with the marquee displayed here. He interpreted the Catalyst logo as ‘J’ shaped bodies that overlapped to create the visual sense of unending loops. Michael then split the circle into a spiral to give it three points to touch down as a 3-dimensional statue. The first & last ‘J’ sit directly in front of each such that when approaching the statue down 12th St it appears to be flat. Then, as you make your way around the traffic circle the statue opens up to show its full breadth. The front of the statue has clean lines, whereas the backside hides nothing & shows all its connections, supports & strengtheners. The idea behind this was to present a polished look from the front & the backside offers a chance for learning. The new Catalyst symbol represents the people & relationships that together create unlimited opportunity for SAIT students & stakeholders.
Project Stats
- Height: 19.5ft tall + cement plinth = approx 23ft tall * Number of Bodies: 6
- Weight: Each body weighs close to a tone; whole statue is approx 12,000 lbs
- Plates: Each body is made up of three 5/8” thick plates welded into an I-Beam
- Number of Welders to Create: 5 * Fabrication Time: 3 months
- Continuous Weld: 1116” per body x 6 = 558ft of 6mm weld (that’s a LOT!)
- Team Members Involved to Create: 32 people * Cups of Coffee: Countless
- Located: SAIT main entrance off 16th Ave NW; Center of traffic circle on 12th St NW
Unveiled June 5th 2017
