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Galvanized Steel Sculptures from Galvanizers Association Australia

architectrual building art

An intricate new crimson steel sculpture known as The Moment which adorns a new apartment building in Melbourne's premier arts precinct benefits from a hot dip galvanizing (HDG)-based duplex system that lowers total lifecycle cost whilst delivering a striking aesthetic finish.

The base HDG coating for this sculpture cost around one-fifth of a three coat system to provide equivalent protection, representing a massive saving for the client.

The result is a striking HDG and painted piece seven metres in diameter by 2.4 metres deep permanently installed five metres above ground. Predominantly created from 3mm mild steel and mounted on an angle frame, the installation weighs three tonnes.

The sculpture was built by artist, Damian Vick, and commissioned for a new residential development comprising 220 apartments in South Melbourne, the neighbourhood being home to the National Gallery of Victoria, Victorian College of the Arts, Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne Recital Centre, Art Centre and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.

Due to this location in the centre of Melbourne's art hub there was a Council requirement to provide an artistic feature to the building. Considered the most significant of Mr Vick's works to date, he needed to ensure that it was developed in such a way to ensure great longevity of both the structure and the finish.

Due to the complexity of the design, the structure was created from 49 individual sections with every piece hot dip galvanized; the finish primarily chosen over a paint-only application to ensure longevity.

The HDG coating under the aesthetic paint means that the steel substrate will not corrode and taint the work with unsightly rust staining.

architectrual steel art

The extremely odd shapes that make up the piece required precise jigging to ensure no build-up of zinc on the inside and outside surfaces. The dipping technique employed by the galvanizer in accordance with AS/NZS 4680 ensured no runs, dribbles or pimpling on the outside surfaces and sufficient coating thickness.

Wire and touch marks were not allowed as any defect would show up due to the duplex coating. Consultation at the initial design stage allowed for adequate venting/draining to be placed to not detract from the overall facade.

Due to the thin gauge of steel used, care with quenching was critical to ensure no distortion as any deformation at all would have made assembly of the work virtually impossible.

After the duplex paint coating had been applied and cured, the galvanizer had to ensure no damage to the top coat through handling or transporting exacerbated by the tight time schedule for transporting and installing onsite due to safety issues associated with the prominent public location.

Transporting the sculpture to site required that every single item was individually wrapped and shipped to ensure no damage to the final surface finish.

The paint work component involved whip blasting surface preparation, then applying a prime coat of DUREMAX GPE at 75 microns and a topcoat of WEATHERMAX HBR of 50 microns thickness.

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