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Public art & monuments

Your vision. Engineering to bring it to life.

We work with artists, fabricators, creative teams and communities on sculptures, monuments and custom installations. We help resolve the structural details, foundations and connections that turn an idea into something people can experience.

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The Flame sculpture in Avondale, Arizona Bronze statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Winter Park Under Our Wings sculpture in Southlake, Texas

10+

public pieces engineered

5

states and counting

16 ft

tallest metal sculpture

60 ft

longest water wall

What we do

From first sketch to sealed drawings.

One engineer for the parts nobody sees: the steel inside, the base it bolts to and the ground under it.

  • Structural design & calculations

    Load paths, connections, wind and seismic checks for the piece itself and everything it hangs on. Sealed drawings a building department can approve.

  • Foundations & footings

    Spread footings, piers and pedestal columns sized for overturning, uplift and the soil you actually have, from a 2.4 m festival pad to a 14 ft × 9 ft monument base.

  • 3D rendering & visualization

    Models that put the artwork, the structure and the site in one picture, so committees, artists and fabricators approve the same thing.

  • Kinetic & wind analysis

    Moving parts that turn with the wind without fatiguing, flutter or tipping. Finite-element checks where the shape is too complex for hand calcs.

  • Fabrication coordination

    Plate thicknesses, welds, base plates and anchor bolts worked out with the fabricator, so the shop drawings and the engineering agree.

  • Permits & approvals

    The calculations and letters a city, county or public-art board asks for, and answers to the plan reviewer when they come back with questions.

Featured work

The idea, the challenge, and how we helped.

Winter Park, Florida

“The Ripple” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

With Ann Moeller Studios & Andrew Luy

The idea
A life-size bronze of Dr. King, surrounded by curved marble walls.
The challenge
Aligning the statue, its base and the curved stone walls so the art and the structure agreed before anything was built.

How we helped

  • 3D renderings for design approval
  • Structural design for the statue base and marble walls

Unveiled July 2025 at Winter Park’s Unity Heritage Festival

Read the project story →

Mansfield, Texas

“Paw in Paw”

Artwork by Vito Di Bari, DiBari & Associates

The idea
A 16-foot cat and dog, cut through with paw prints, welcoming visitors to the new Mansfield Animal Care & Control facility.
The challenge
Every paw print removes steel from the plates that carry the load, and the figures still have to stand up to Texas wind on a slim base.

How we helped

  • 16 ft metal sculpture
  • Structural design of the steel figures and base plate
  • Anchorage to the concrete foundation

Installed 2026 · first large-scale piece of the Mansfield Public Art Program

Read the Mansfield Record story →

In fabrication

“Bike to the Future” — Major Taylor

Being cast at Betz Art Foundry

The idea
A bronze tribute to Major Taylor, the first African American world champion in cycling, riding a bicycle that looks as light as the real thing.
The challenge
Thin bronze tubing alone can’t carry cast figures outdoors for decades without bending.

How we helped

  • Engineered drawings for an outdoor bronze sculpture
  • Silicon bronze castings
  • Bronze-tube bicycle reinforced with stainless steel

In fabrication at Betz Art Foundry

Engineer’s note

“The bicycle had to read as a real bicycle, slender tubes and all. We reinforced the bronze tubing with stainless steel inside, so the frame keeps the artist’s proportions while it carries the riders outdoors.”

Enrique Lairet, PE
Follow the build at the foundry →

Davenport, Florida

“Mission to Mars” rocket entrance

For Orlando Attraction Homes · Mission to Mars Extreme Private Attraction

The idea
A full-size rocket with twin boosters, launching from the entrance of a 15,000 sq ft space-themed vacation estate.
The challenge
Holding a tall, wind-catching rocket high above the roofline, right over the front door.

How we helped

  • Reinforced concrete frame and structural columns
  • Carries the rocket and boosters above the roofline
  • Entrance landmark of a 15,000 sq ft themed estate

Built · Davenport, Florida

Engineer’s note

“The rocket had to look like it was lifting off from the entrance, high above the roof. We engineered the structural columns and reinforced concrete frame that carry it up there.”

Enrique Lairet, PE
Read the Orlando Weekly story →

Southlake, Texas

“Under Our Wings”

Artwork by The Dream Team, DiBari & Associates

The idea
A 14.5-foot metal plate sculpture honoring Southlake’s fire and police departments.
The challenge
Tall, thin plates act like sails in the wind; the connections and the foundation have to carry that.

How we helped

  • 14.5 ft metal plate sculpture
  • Structural analysis and sealed drawings
  • Foundation and anchorage design

Installed · Southlake, Texas

Avondale, Arizona

“The Flame”

Artwork by The Dream Team, DiBari & Associates

The idea
A 10-foot flame carrying the message “Aspiring, Achieving and Accelerating.”
The challenge
Setting a twisting sculptural form safely on a compact round base.

How we helped

  • 10 ft sculpture
  • Foundation engineering
  • Structural drawings for construction

Installed · Avondale, Arizona

ARC Music Festival, Chicago

“Mycelia” by Daniel Popper

Artwork by Daniel Popper

The idea
A 4-metre installation celebrating fungi and plant life, set in a wooded corner of the festival so visitors walk into it.
The challenge
A festival piece still has to be stable around crowds, on a compact footing.

How we helped

  • 4 m (13 ft) sculpture
  • Stability and overturning calculations
  • 2.4 m round concrete foundation

Installed for ARC Music Festival, Chicago

Watch the installation →

Florida

Hammock Bay community entrance

Rendering courtesy of Impact Properties Inc.

The idea
A resort-style arrival: a landmark tower, decorative columns and six custom fountains anchored by a 60-foot water wall.
The challenge
Structure and water working together: coastal wind on the tower and columns, and more than 14,000 gallons running 24/7.

How we helped

  • Structural design for the tower, columns and all fountains, to Florida coastal wind standards
  • Hydraulic design and pump specification for six water features, over 14,000 gallons, running 24/7
  • Coordination across structural, pool, landscape, civil and electrical teams

Engineered from rendering to construction documents

Fire Station 172, Avondale, Arizona

“Nexus: A Harmony of Rivers”

With Ann Moeller Studios and Aerospace Structural Research Corp. · Photo: Ann Moeller Studios

The idea
A kinetic sculpture for the meeting of the Salt, Gila and Agua Fria rivers: a ring of sculpted waves that turns in the wind, with a Great Blue Heron rotating inside it.
The challenge
Parts that move in the wind have to turn freely without fatiguing, and without tipping the column they sit on.

How we helped

  • Analysis for safe kinetic movement
  • 8 ft diameter concrete foundation
  • 7 ft steel-reinforced concrete column

Installed · Fire Station 172, Avondale

Peirce Island, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

“Spiral Fence”

Artwork by The Dream Team, DiBari & Associates

The idea
An 11-foot metal plate sculpture of varying heights that spirals across the lawn.
The challenge
Plates of different heights along a curve, each needing a stable anchorage.

How we helped

  • 11 ft metal plate sculpture
  • Structural analysis and calculations

Installed · Peirce Island, Portsmouth

Seminole, Florida

Towns at Riverwalk entrance monument

For a new 104-townhome community

The idea
A 7-foot entrance monument carrying the community’s name, for a new 104-townhome community.
The challenge
Getting the design approved before anything was built, then giving it a foundation big enough to keep it stable.

How we helped

  • 3D rendering for approval
  • Structural design and construction drawings
  • 14 ft × 9 ft foundation

Built · Seminole, Florida

Barton Memorial Park Cemetery

Historic archway

Engineering support to preserve and stabilize a historic cemetery archway.

Read the project story →

How it works

The art stays the artist’s.

  1. 1

    Send what you have

    Sketches, a model, dimensions, the site and the program’s requirements. Two minutes in the intake.

  2. 2

    Scope and quote

    A licensed engineer reviews it and sends a written quote, usually the same business day.

  3. 3

    Render, analyze, design

    We model it, check it and size everything that holds it up, and talk through any change with the artist before it’s made.

  4. 4

    Sealed and supported

    Drawings and calculations for the fabricator and the permit, and answers when the reviewer calls.

Who we work with

Artists first. Everyone else on the team, too.

  • Sculptors and studios
  • Fabricators
  • Creative agencies
  • Brand activations
  • Public-art programs and cities
  • Developers and HOAs
  • Festivals and events
  • Landscape architects

We work alongside studios like Ann Moeller Studios and The Dream Team (DiBari & Associates), and coordinate with fabricators, landscape architects, civil and electrical teams so one set of drawings tells one story. Creative agencies and brand-activation teams are welcome too: if it has to be built, stand up and pass review, we can help.

Questions

When should an artist bring in the engineer?

As early as you have a sketch or a model. Size, material and base details are cheap to change on paper and expensive once metal is cut. We often start with a rendering and a feasibility check before the commission is final.

What do you need to start?

Whatever exists: sketches, a 3D model, dimensions and materials, the site address and any requirements from the city or the art program. The intake takes files of any kind.

Do you work outside Florida?

Yes. Recent pieces stand in Texas, Arizona, New Hampshire and Illinois. Firm licensure in 38 states plus the U.S. Virgin Islands.

How is it priced?

Every piece is different, so we quote from your files before any work begins, usually the same business day.

Let’s talk

Have something unusual in mind?

Send us the concept, sketches or available drawings. We’ll talk through the engineering scope and next steps.

Start a project Something else? →