River Legend Space Frame Sculpture
Space Frames Play Monumental Role In River Legend Relocation
Architect
Dimitri Hadzi
Date
Completed in 2013
Project Highlights
River Legend is a 6-ton, 13-foot-tall, stone arch designed and built in 1976 outside the Wyatt Federal Building in Portland, Oregon. In 2013, the building underwent a renovation that required the statue be moved. Comprised of five massive sections of columnar basalt, River Legend’s stones were selectively tooled, gravity-set, pinned, and installed on-site. As a result, it was an ambitious feat to try to move the structure without altering its appearance. That’s where DSI Spaceframes came in. The company created a custom, high-strength, steel space frame to house and protect the entire structure so that it would maintain its integrity while being transported. Using its exclusive System III space frame system, DSI Spaceframes assembled the space frame on-site. Subparts were manufactured in the company’s facility then delivered and fit around the piece. Supplemental struts were added as needed. The main components of the space frame were universal so that it could be disassembled and reassembled for re-use—which met the client’s sustainable goals. The rigid space frame captured, redirected and dispersed the stresses that could have been imposed on the statue during lifting for removal, transport and return. River Legend now sits prominently at the corner of Jefferson Street and Third Avenue for all to see.