Nikolas Weinstein
Nikolas Weinstein (born 1968)[1] is a San Francisco-based[2] American glass artist known for his large-scale architectural sculptures.
[9] Weinstein, whose designs focus on light, shapes, and movement[10] describes glassblowing as a “team sport”[5] and has 10 to 12 people working on each project, along with an engineer to analyze the stresses on the sculpture and calculate the amount of glass required.
[2] In an interview with GLASS Quarterly, Weinstein stated that all his pieces are in “response to their surrounding architecture”[2] and that [he] “always wanted pieces that were big enough that they would be considered as much an element in a building as the foundation or the façade.”[4] Commissioned in 1996 by architect Frank O. Gehry,[5] the project was Weinstein's entry into the commercial market, and his first foray into large-scale glass installations.
With a total weight of 2.5 tons, an area of more than 2,000 square feet, taking and four years to complete,[2] the installation was one of the largest all-glass sculptures in the world.
[9] During his testing, Miska noted that the glass did not shatter easily, and upon further study, realized that the glass panels behaved “like old Spanish forts built of coral, whose porous material was great at absorbing the impact of cannon balls, with all the energy of an impact being dissipated through the many tiny natural breaks.”[9] He deduced that Weinstein had created a sculpture with “fortress-like strength” and that the panels wouldn't fail catastrophically in a construction accident.” The piece has been called “unparalleled in the whole world.”[11] Completion of the chandelier led to other architectural and commercial commissions, most of which are in Asia, where Weinstein states the continent has “more adventurous tastes in art.”[12] Skylights in a cocktail lounge in the San Francisco Bay area, fitted with glass sculptural “curtains”[13] made to resemble fabric blowing in the wind, transform a formerly-abandoned warehouse space into a posh “modern urban tavern.” Listed as “the best restaurant sculpture”,[14] the Bar Agricole artwork was designed to withstand earthquake forces over 1G.
[2] Envisioned by Weinstein as a “loose line of Chinese calligraphy” a jellyfish-like sculpture floats down from the center of the ballroom and twists like a ribbon through two lobbies of the hotel.
[2] Completed in 2013, the sculpture in the lobby of the Mariott Hong Kong Sha Tim is made of 58,000 glass tubes and almost six miles of steel cable, the artwork weaves between the building's columns, and seems to accompany guests as they ascend the stairs to the second floor.
[19] In addition to his design team of 10, Weinstein partnered with Arup, the structural engineering firm involved in building the Sydney Opera House.
