vulcanizing ideas

While driving the steep incline of the Richard Arrington Jr Blvd in Birmingham looking for a place to eat, I was greeted by an imposing statue at the top of a stairway holding a hammer and pointing out over the city.

Further curiosity confirmed that it was a portrayal of the Roman God Vulcan, and the largest cast-iron statue in the world. Sculpted in 1904 by Giuseppe Moretti, it is composed of 29 separate pieces, each internally bolted together to create the awe-inspiring scale. At the base of the staircase was a plaque telling the story of the Red Mountain Park’s creation and raising of funds to transport the massive sculpture in 1938 by the Kiwanis Club. The dramatic lighting at the base was built in 2017, putting the total time between all events over 100 years!

Building something timeless requires a multi generational investment of time. Like the segments of the Vulcan Statue, it involves interdisciplinary teams representing unique components, and a core idea compelling enough to be executed at each phase to reality.