The artful trash cans that will be installed on Division Street east of Southeast 112nd Avenue are designed by Dave Gonzo Sculpture, which won the Division Midway Alliance commission. The trash-can enclosure design will feature Mount Hood, the DMA logo and two roses, all made of mild steel.
The creators, Dave Gonzo and Matt Scheick bring a combined 32 years of metalwork experience, passion and skill to the DMA placemaking project. Gonzo, an “alchemist artist,” began honing his craft in his hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., and gathered experience (and miles) in San Diego and British Columbia.
“Friends asked me where I was headed and I had no idea. All I could tell them is that I’m looking for work on the road and where ever I find it, then that’s where the Universe is placing me,” Gonzo says. The universe, it seems had Portland in mind. Here he is a member of the Pacific Northwest Sculptors group, surrounded by talented artists like Scheick. Scheick whose specialties run from metalwork to Rhino 3-D is a graduate of Oregon State University.
The Gonzo and Scheick design edged out a few others considered by DMA. The design was drawn using the Rhino 3-D program. Once the design won final approval, it was nuts-and-bolts time, beginning with precise measurements that took into account space needed to easily remove the 45-gallon bins for emptying.
How much material do you need for 11 containers? This much: 500 feet of tube steel, 240 feet of angle iron and 1,657 square feet of flat steel.
Once sized, the side and top panel design files were sent to a laser cutting company. Those panels will be set within square tube steel frames. It took 25 20-foot lengths of steel to create those frames.
The first enclosure – and the fixed model — was put together within precise measurements as this enclosure was used as the fixed model. Temporary supports, stops, shims and latches were tack welded to the first enclosure and the remaining 10 enclosures were built off of the fixed model. Eleven of the laser cut panels were used for the door and were built with angle iron on the back side for support. Then this piece was welded in place leaving a 1/8” gap for clearance with two barrel hinges for function of emptying the cans inside. The top panel with the 12” hole was then inset into each enclosure structure and welded into place. Once the enclosures were together with all panels in place, the door and top panel, a 15” wide piece of 14GA sheet that was rolled into a half circle and welded directly center over the hole for trash. All 11 enclosures were cleaned with a wire wheel, sander and lightly sandblasted before getting powdered bright green.
While the enclosures were at powder coaters 44 flat bar frames were fabricated with holes in them and 44 pieces of galvanized perforated sheet metal cut to the correct dimensions. The perforated metal was then welded onto the frames and painted with cold galvanizing for protection from the weather. Once the powder coating was complete, the enclosures were picked up and the perforated frames were pop riveted inside the enclosures. The galvanized perforated metal with frames was installed after the powder coat so there is a nice contrast of silver behind the laser cut Mount Hood, DMA logo and roses to the bright green enclosures.
Comments are closed.