FORM OF WANDER

TAMPA, FLORIDA - 2018

FORM OF WANDER PLANTS A TWISTED STRUCTURAL NETWORK ON A PIER ON THE HILLSBOROUGH RIVER IN TAMPA, fLORIDA

Where the Riverfront Park recreational space extends onto the waterway, this structure is situated to host new outdoor activities and new memories of the Tampa’s active waterfront. As an inverted mangrove, the green-hued aluminum canopy announces itself among palms as a signal on the Hillsborough River. The tree-like structure appears to float between water and land.

Seven trunk-like columns straddle this path onto the water, inviting visitors to walk around and through on a winding path. They thrust up into a tangle of branches, not unlike the root structures of mangroves which take root along Florida shorelines--part of the resilient ecology, evolved to withstand hurricane force winds.

An atmosphere of filtered light and reflected currents is to be found there, under faceted members that split, arch, and recombine to produce an open network. Gradients follow linear stripes pale green to brilliant white, which alternately highlight cantilevered edges and shadow the interior portions. Somewhere between the natural and the iconic, the piece is identifiable on the riverfront, regardless of the direction of approach, but emphasizes the greenery to be found on the newly opened Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park.

A destination for your Sunday stroll, a meeting point for your morning runs, an obstacle course for games of tag -- Form of Wander is an experiential device as much as it is a signal on the horizon. From within its boughs, the structure performs as a framing device for the surrounding landscape, both heightening the scenery and providing new visual access to it.

Florida Greenery

Six greens from “Chatty Cricket” to “Green Whisper” make up a linear gradient applied locally and according to the direction of the topology. Chosen specifically to react to the changing sun, the greens liven to a bright green in response to Tampa’s usually sunny weather, without tipping into the yellow spectrum, and appear more pastel on the rarer greyer days. The muted green borrows from a tradition of art deco and art nouveau era riveted structures.

Resilient Design -- Reinforcing Ultra-Thin

Shortly after the last pieces were riveted in place, Tampa withstood hurricane force winds from Category Four Michael. Its 3,123 parts made up a double-layer structure, with rings forming the interior layer of the columns and stripes cross-laminating as an exterior skin to compose the branching elements.

Credits:

Commissioned by: Hillsborough County Public Art || Design: MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY | Engineering: LaufsEd

Engineering by LaufsED

Photos by NAARO