Floors are made for walking. But in the case of the new Engineering Centers Building, its floor is made for gazing, as well.
Work on an 11,000-square-foot terrazzo floor in the ECB is more than halfway done, according to artist Scott Parsons.
The floor represents a unique take on the College of Engineering's widely admired art program — a functional (and heavily trafficked) floor as a piece of art.
The terrazzo floor reflects images — such as circuits, CAT scans, and crystals — found in engineering research.
Parsons used half-inch tall zinc and brass divider strips to create the floor's design.
The floor is filled with a combination of epoxy, marble chips, glass chips and marble dust that is poured into the design shapes.
The work resembles laying and pouring a sidewalk, only a much more colorful one.
The ECB's terrazzo floor is funded by the Wisconsin Percent for Art Program, which requires that two-tenths of 1 percent of the construction cost of new state buildings be set aside for commissioning or purchasing art.
Parsons hopes to complete the floor within a month. The ECB is scheduled to open this fall semester.
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Date last modified: 05-Jul-2002
Date created: 05-Jul-2002
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