Chuck Hoberman was commissioned by Discovery World to design and engineer at Pier Wisconsin his Expanding Helicoid . The sculpture expands and contracts from a 3' x 12' cluster to a 9' x 36' helical structure.The installation
"smoothly expands to fill the spiral staircase at the center of Discovery World’s permanent biotech exhibit in Milwaukee. Visitors have the sensation of being inside the sculpture: as it expands, it seems to grow like a living plant; as it contracts, it seems to disappear into the stairwell. Bound by two spiral staircases–like the DNA double helix it resembles–the helicoid itself is like a living organism, visually joining the staircases from landing to landing."
The designer's other works and ideas are available in this interview.
