Boston, MA
Symphony Park Sculpture
Scope/Solutions
As part of Symphony Park’s redesign, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department collaborated with the Boston Art Commission and the Friends of Symphony Park to select Jacob Kulin to design a sculpture for the park. Celebrating the nearby Berklee College of Music and Symphony Hall, Kulin’s design embraces the shapes of string instruments in his modern Scandinavian style. SGH consulted on the structural design for the 16 ft tall sculpture, First Chair.
SGH analyzed and evaluated the proposed structure for the sculpture, comprising Cor-ten steel, stainless steel, bronze, and granite. Highlights of our work include the following:
- Recommended modifications to the proposed design to increase stability and durability
- Designed the precast concrete foundation and the sculpture’s anchorage
- Detailed stone seat and curb
- Prepared permit drawings and foundation package drawings
- Performed parametric modeling of sculpture hardware and developed renderings and animations to demonstrate the design to approvers
- Provided the fabrication team with direct-to-digital fabrication files for the steel components
- Developed assembly and shop erection drawings
- Reviewed foundation and stonework shop drawings to compare with the design intent
Project Summary
Solutions
New Construction
Services
Structures
Markets
Culture & Entertainment
Client(s)
Kulin Modern
Key team members


Additional Projects
Northeast
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, The Mother Church Original
SGH was retained by The First Church of Christ, Scientist to assess the condition of the timber pile foundations at The Mother Church Original.
Northeast
2013 Design Biennial Boston, BSA Space, Helix Stair
Envisioned and developed by Matter Design for the third Design Biennial Boston, Helix is a half-scale, unreinforced, custom-fabricated, concrete spiral staircase. SGH collaborated with Matter Design on material analysis, structural design and detailing, casting and curing, and erection at BSA Space.