Photos courtesy of Ben Bauer Designs

Schaefer was the structural engineer for a new art installation, Forest of Us by Es Devlin, at Superblue Miami. Upon entry, guests watch a projected video before entering a 4500 sq ft mirror maze that spans two stories.

Forest of Us was fabricated in sections with modularity in mind. This approach will benefit any future assembly in new locations, and also allowed for faster initial fabrication; the fabricator could begin construction of pieces while drawings were still in development. This is one way the team managed a tight schedule of six weeks from contract execution to permit drawings issuance.

To maintain as seamless of an experience as possible, the team had the goal to avoid fasteners on the mirrors. The creative solution was to install the panels in sequence, fastening them together from the inside, before platforms were installed. Other fasteners were hidden behind light fixtures + areas not visible to guests.

Construction materials included bendable plywood to achieve curved walls, extra long sheets of plywood to meet the full height of walls without having to splice, and steel moment frames at specific locations to improve lateral stability.