PLUME at ABIA

Size: 22-feet Tall
Owner: City of Austin Economic Development Department – Art in Public Places Program

PLUME at Austin Bergstrom International Airport is a large scale public art piece, designed and fabricated by Clay Odom and Kory Bieg of StudioModo. Commissioned by the City of Austin’s Department of Economic Development, under its Art in Public Places Program (AIPP), the artwork is located along a pedestrian walkway from the airport’s terminals to long-term surface parking lots, serving as a wayfinding device and welcoming both visitors and returning residence to the City.

PLUME’s primary structure is a 3D-printed, fuse deposition modeled (FDM) thermoplastic matrix that supports a skin of robotically bent aluminum rods. Base assembly is plasma-cut stainless steel on cast-in-place reinforced concrete. Leap! was engaged to perform structural analysis of the complex assembly to certify compliance with building code and airport facilities requirements, as well as to develop connection and assembly details and to design foundations for the sculpture.