Solution

Wreath of Honor Memorial

Chattanooga, TN

Service: Structural Design
Keywords: Art Work, Fasteners and Connections, Stone, Stone-Limestone

Client

Metalab Studio

Completion

2019
Wreath of Honor Memorial
Wreath of Honor Memorial

Dedicated to the Fallen Five—the five service members killed in a 2015 terrorist attack—the suspended Wreath of Honor is supported by five limestone pillars representing each one of them. The memorial, designed by RE:site, creates a place for reflection in the Tennessee Riverpark on the circular plaza framed by the pillars and anchored by a central granite bench. SGH was the structural engineer of record for the project.

Scope | Solutions

SGH consulted on the structural design for the sculpture and provided stamped structural drawings. Highlights of our work include the following:

  • Collaborated with the designer to evaluate the sculpture’s overall strength and stability based on the three-dimensional, parametric geometry

  • Analyzed the twenty-foot-tall pillars that support the wreath, which is created with curved, brass-colored stainless steel ribbons

  • Developed details to stack the five tapered blocks of Indiana limestone in each pillar by connecting them with a hidden 1 in. dia. tension rod that anchors the pillar to the foundation, maintains alignment, and counteracts the lateral bending stresses caused by tie-rods from the memorial wreath and environmental loads

  • Designed cable connections that support and center the wreath as it appears to float between the supporting pillars

Project Contact(s)

Gary Strand

Gary Strand

Zonglei Mu