Barkow Leibinger

A gleaming sculpture welcomes visitors to the lobby of the Trumpf Smart Factory Chicago, a presentation and sales center for digitally-networked metal processing machines newly opened in 2017. Large scaled yet seemingly delicate, the hanging construction, made of 2-meter tall curved steel sheeting, demonstrates the possibilities of modern sheet metal processing technologies.

Within the double-height entrance hall, seven elements suspended from thin steel cables float about 2.5 meters above the floor. Each component consists of several bowed pieces of sheet metal, as if sliced from tubes of varying sizes, welded together into bundles varying in diameter of either 46, 60 or 74 cm.

The interplay of elements in combination creates a buoyant, permeable structure with a total diameter of 2 meters. The high-polish surface contrasts the building’s raw Corten-steel façade, matte black steel construction, and interior charred wood walls. Reflecting the incoming light dozens of times over, the sculpture becomes the building’s gleaming, silvery jewel.