Photo © Iwan Baan
Spectacular squished legume
Sitting below an extraordinary skyscraper , the Jenga Tower , is British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor ’ s long-awaited first permanent installation in New York city . Known as The Half Bean ( not its official name ), the gleaming legume appears to be wedged under Herzog & de Meuron ’ s 56 Leonard Street in Tribeca .
By Kimberly Oakes , Nickel Institute
The sculpture was unveiled in January 2023 , fifteen years after it was commissioned , a reflection of the complexity of the project , economic factors and Covid travel restrictions . Performance Structures , Inc ., who also fabricated Kapoor ’ s Cloud Gate ( the Bean ) in Chicago , tackled the many challenges with the welding and fairing
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The Nickel Institute is the global association of leading primary nickel producers . Its mission is to advocate for the responsible supply and sustainable development of nickel and the nickel industry . For information , please visit nickelinstitute . org process to create a seamless sculpture . Each slice of the sculpture has its own support frame , with support frames for the bottom parts bolted to the plaza and cables suspending the slices themselves . Spring members enable the sculpture to move slightly with conditions like wind , snow , and changes in temperature . Fabricated from precision-trimmed , and polished Type 316L ( UNS S31603 ) stainless steel panels with a highly mirrored surface , the 48 ' long by 19 ' tall ( 15 by 6 m ) 40-tonne balloon-like form sits on the pavement at the base . The final piece was assembled around a massive internal structure , welded , ground , and polished on site . Says Kapoor , “ This work proposes a form made of stainless steel that is also
Photo © Iwan Baan
soft and ephemeral . Mirrors cause us to pause , to be absorbed and pulled in a way that disrupts time , slows it down perhaps ; it ’ s a material that creates a new kind of immaterial space .” The project , initiated by developers Alexico Group , is a shining example of innovation in art and architecture .
38 Stainless Steel World April 2025 www . stainless-steel-world . net