Talus Dome is both a sculpture in the landscape and a mirror to the landscape. It reflects the sky, the weather and the river of cars that pass by. The hollowed dome is part of a holistic landscape where nature and culture are inextricably linked; a unity that belies our dualistic distinctions. The overall shape was developed from our investigation into the geological engineering concept – “angle of repose”, the natural inclination that an aggregated material assumes when dropped into a pile from one point. In making a shape determined by natural phenomena, we aim to further blur the distinction between the notions of objective, naturally occurring reality and that reality which is culturally constructed through subjective experience.
Talus Dome is an earthwork fashioned from a non-earth work material; an aggregation of steel spheres. It might be perceived as a fragment of synthetic nature that emerges from the ground or a remnant of the process of constructing the bridge itself. Comprised of approximately 900 stainless steel spheres that together assume the shape of an abstracted pile or mound, it is void in the center rather than solid. It also has spaces and gaps between the spheres, leaving the viewer to complete the shape with her mind’s eye while enabling her to see between the spheres and through the pile. The surrounding landscape is reflected within each of the spheres. This duality contributes to the playful quality of the work. In one way, the work becomes part of the environment through mimicry and reflection, however, in the same spatial gesture, the work is artifice by way of its transparency and the empty cavity within it.
Talus Dome embodies nature in two ways. One, because its shape quite literally suggests natural features in the landscape of the Edmonton region such talus cones below river bluffs, piles of gravel on construction sites, snow drifts, etc. Two, because, in engineering terms, the domed form is a parabolic shell structure where each individual sphere settles into a gravity induced, self-organized relationship to its neighbors. We also employed a “form finding” methodology to determine the overall shape of the dome. This process is akin to the one employed by architect Antonio Gaudi for his Sagrada Familia in Barcelona to yield shapes that have an optimal level of structural stability but use minimal amounts of material. The dome is structurally sound by virtue of its geometry rather than the mass of its materials; it is highly efficient.
Conversely, the surface of Talus Dome takes on different colors with the changing seasons and hours of the day as it literally reflects its surroundings. Under certain lighting conditions, it has a strong visual presence along the Drive, and at others, it visually recedes to blend into the scenery. Its visual quality is not static, and it therefore creates an appealing tension between the permanence that it exhibits and aims to symbolize, and its changeable appearance that suggests the mutability of nature.
Talus Dome commemorates the unique beauty of Edmonton and the surrounding region while reminding us of man’s agency within it. We aim to call to mind the breathtaking vistas along the North Saskatchewan River while creating a landmark for bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists. Unlike the mistake that was made by the City of Los Angeles when it paved over the Los Angeles River in the early 20th Century, Edmonton has woven the Alberta landscape through the city itself in the form of the River; it has allowed the River and its flood plains to remain pristine and idyllic while the City develops. Talus Dome is an evocative emblem of this actuality and a celebration of the coexistence of human kind with the natural landscape along Whitemud Drive – a river of another kind.
Principals and Designers in Charge: Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues
Project Manager: James Jones
Project Team: Karla Castillo, Deborah Chang, Tyler Crain, Constantina Dendramis, Jessica DeVries, Isabel Francoy Albert, Julieta Gil, Benjamin Jenett, James Jones, Ayodh Kamath, Alison Kung, Luciana Martinez, Nicolas Pappas, Allison Porterfield, Samantha Rose, Ron Shvartsman, Caroline Smith, Alejandra Sotelo, Jess Thomas, Julianne Weiss, Evan Wiskup.
Custom Software Design: www.sparcestudio.com
Structural Engineer: Buro Happold, Los Angeles
