Melbourne's Eureka Tower gets illuminated golden bees in new Richard Stringer public art installation
Melbourne's landmark Eureka Tower has extended its lobby experience after the unveiling of another bee from the famous Richard Stringer Queen Bee which has long adorns the building on Riverside Quay.
It has been enlarged to include a new signature bee piece above the front door to further announce the entry to the 2006 high rise building.
The Lord Mayor Sally Capp turned on the lights on all the bees for the first time tonight.
It would be good for the night time economy, she told the residents who'd gather in the lobby of the 88 storey residential building.
The work has been undertaken by the original artist, Richard Stringer, from his Melbourne studio for the Southbank location.
Photo credit: John Gollings
Sally Capp noted the work demonstrates the commitment from the artist, the Eureka Tower residents and the architects, Fender Katsalidis, to the enrichment of the public domain through art.
The "Queen Bee" was developed by sculptor Richard Stringer for a series of studio works in 2003-04.
Surry Hills Shopping Village, the architect, saw these original sculptures and commissioned a large scale version.
The gold finish of Stringer's works complement the golden glass apex of the building designed by Katsalidis.
The sculptures are made from anodised aluminium sheet using cast aluminium for all the antennae and small bees' legs.
The sheets are riveted together using 110,000 anodised rivets.
The work was begun in January 2006 at Stringer's Richmond studio and the initial completed work was installed in December 2007.
The architect Karl Fender says that the growing bee installation represents the role of art in capturing the imagination of both Melbourne residents and tourists alike.
“Boldly executed, art is infused into the building fabric at grade level demonstrating its significance to enriching the public domain,” says Fender.
“The evolution of the colony bee sculpture, a significant sculptural installation and piece of public art, signifies the hive of activity and high-density city living within the Eureka Tower, and across our city more broadly – its vibrancy and boldness continues to stand out, architecturally and sculpturally.”