Maquette for Constellation

This maquette is a scale version of Constellation, the Zurich-based architect and artist's 30-foot-tall public sculpture in River Point Park, at the intersection of the Main Stem, South, and North branches of the Chicago River. Drawing upon the curvilinear lines of the river, the Lake Street bridge, and the east facade of 444 West Lake Street, Santiago Calatrava constructed an energetic spiral using overlapping leaf-like elements. The sculpture is the first work Calatrava completed in Chicago–an achievement of special importance to the artist, who acknowledged that "the city introduced [the concept of] public art."