From design on paper to construction in steel

February 20, 2021

The countdown is on and the inauguration of the RED HEELS sculpture on March 20, 2021 is rapidly approaching completion. After the Diekmann engineering office calculated the statics and the steel sheets were delivered by Klöckner & Co., Franken Apparatebau GmbH began cutting the base plate last week. The Oberhausen-based company is owner-managed by Wilhelm Franken and Sebastian Franken, was founded in 1963 and currently employs 110 people. This week, all seven shoe elements were also produced and four of them were mounted on the base plate.

Cutting the base plate, 2021 © Franken Apparatebau GmbH

This is a technical process that is precisely defined in advance. First, the calculated geometry is cut using a plasma cutter on the 30 mm thick base plate, onto which the sculpture is then welded.

To ensure that the clear specifications that Heiner Meyer made for the alignment of the shoe elements can be taken into account during assembly, the axis lines of the shoes were already drawn when the base plate was cut. The individual shoes are then arranged along these axes during assembly.

The base plate with axis lines, 2021 © Franken Apparatebau GmbH

The programming of the individual shoes and the nesting in a flame cutting program have already been completed and are checked on the monitor. Here it is important to determine the cutting bevels and the sequences precisely so that no distortion occurs during cutting and the shoes do not deviate from the specified geometry.

The flame cutting program with shoe elements drawn in, 2021 © Franken Apparatebau GmbH

The base plate is largely finished and the next step is to place the plate that will be used for the individual shoes on top. The burning machine is programmed and the cutting process has started.

"Cutting out" the shoe elements, 2021 © Franken Apparatebau GmbH

The cut-out elements afterwards, 2021 © Franken Apparatebau GmbH

Welding the first element, 2021 © Franken Apparatebau GmbH

The first shoe is in place. The alignment must be very precise in order to have a good basis for the construction of the entire sculpture.

The first three shoes are in place and fixed to the base plate using welding points. Now the first fastening points can be welded. Here you can see that all the shoes have already been cut. The edges are then cleaned and rounded.

This is what the finished edges look like. These are the shoes that will be on top. There are currently four shoes on the base, which will be taken to the painter next Monday. The other three will be assembled in the meantime.

Status as of February 18, 2021, in the background structural engineer Dr.-Ing Christoph Diekmann and Dr. Christine Vogt, 2021 © LUDWIGGALERIE Schloss Oberhausen