The Ram's Horn (Weaving Fence and Horn)
Standing 8 feet tall and extending for 12 feet along the west side of the TransCanada Centre, the Weaving Fence and Horn sculpture is an iconic art installation in Calgary, Alberta.
Designed by renowned artist John McEwen, this unique structure served a dual purpose. The artistic intent of the sculpture was to call to mind the bighorn sheep – common to the nearby Rocky Mountains. The practical purpose of the finished structure, combined with a “weaving fence” element, serves to mitigate wind vortexes around the tall buildings in downtown Calgary.
The sculpture is comprised entirely of recycled steel that was generously donated by IPSCO and transported from their plant in Regina, Saskatchewan to our plant in Hamilton, Ontario for fabrication. At the time of construction, it was the largest recycled art in the country.
- The weight of the horn is 16 tons and the fence is 0.75 tons.
- The horn has a footprint of 30 ft. x 13 ft and rises to an arch of 24 ft in height. It curves as a natural ram’s horn would and meets the earth at either end.
This is a project where we truly took the artist’s inspiration and brought it to life. With no drawings available, we created a 3D model and created the finished sculpture. We also engineered, fabricated and erected the sculpture.
The greatest challenge in the creation of the horn was developing the concept conceived by the artist digitalizing it and doing all the computer work before fabrication. This process alone took one year and the actual fabrication was 12 weeks, including surface preparation and painting.