The Challenge
A great assignment with the perfect manufacturer to tackle the job, Cristaux set out to construct an incredibly complicated design. Provided by the world-renown Jeff Koons, this design was specifically crafted for the Smithsonian.
Since 2012, the Smithsonian magazine has promoted the American Ingenuity Awards. This recognition program honors innovation in the arts, sciences, and technology. Winners include Elon Musk and Lin-Manuel Miranda, and presenters include Stephen Hawking and Bill Nye.
A great assignment with the perfect manufacturer to tackle the job, Cristaux set out to construct an incredibly complicated design. Provided by the world-renown Jeff Koons, this design was specifically crafted for the Smithsonian.
We took our time finding the best way to economically manufacture. We needed the pillars to look like they were coming out of a rock formation in a very free-flowing fashion. We decided to machine the base out of solid aluminum and then we decided the cast the rock formation to capture even the little details. All of the pillars were then finely machined and highly polished before being securely connected to the underside of the machined base.