Photo credit: Nicholas Knight, Courtesy Public Art Fund, NY.
- Photo credit: Nicholas Knight, Courtesy Public Art Fund, NY.
Doors for Doris, located in Doris C. Freedman Plaza at the southeast corner of Central Park, is comprised of three stone portals ranging from 12 to 15 feet tall. The design team sourced the bluestone slabs from a regional quarry and performed material testing to determine the stone’s properties.
To achieve the perception of stacked pieces that the artist envisioned, Silman designed and detailed hidden connections between each portal’s stone header and stone piers. The firm’s engineers also analyzed the ability of each portal to withstand temporary environmental loads.
Photo credit: Nicholas Knight, Courtesy Public Art Fund, NY.
Photo credit: Nicholas Knight, Courtesy Public Art Fund, NY.
- Photo credit: Nicholas Knight, Courtesy Public Art Fund, NY.
- Photo credit: Nicholas Knight, Courtesy Public Art Fund, NY.
Centered below the portals, each mosaic door is an independent structure made up of thick marble veneers embedded in glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) panels that are clipped back to steel frames comprised of HSS steel sections. Careful coordination with the GFRC manufacturer ensured adequate thickness and bonding to the mosaic pieces.
Due to the temporary nature of the installation, Silman designed all the connection details with ease of removal in mind. The firm also provided a suggested removal sequence for the end of the installation period.
