Have you ever wondered where those exposed steel beams come from? Follow along with the whole process of the build from paper plans to steel parts to installing structural elements! And it turns out that the fabricators who made them up for the WaterFire Arts Center are just down the street at Rhode Island Welding! They prepared the vertical I beams that will be supporting the new WaterFire offices by tapping holed to receive custom brackets. Those special brackets that tie the beams into the existing structural steel were cut on an automated table, and then hand welded together and finally welded to the building.
The whole process was very fast, with all of the steel beams hung in one day! Final welding into position is still taking place, and the channels which will hold the floor concrete have yet to be placed.
Watching these beams go up really tells us how far we have come in the progress of the building!
About the author
Tim Blankenship, newly appointed Director of Special Projects, is a 22-year veteran of WaterFire and a steadfast advocate for the organization’s mission to unite the community through shared artistic experiences. Having worked across multiple departments, including a decade in production and recent years with the creative services team, Tim brings unmatched institutional knowledge to his new role. He will focus on strengthening internal systems and supporting the creation of new visitor experiences at both the downtown installation and the WaterFire Arts Center.
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September 11, 2013 - Tim Blankenship
I like how around the minute mark in your video you showed how they took a torch to the steel to help fabricate it into the steel beam that they wanted. It seems like a pretty intense project that is so helpful to putting up our buildings and probably making anything with steel or metal. I wonder where a fabricator near me is.