Context

The Quercus Helix timber sculpture created by Handspring Design is the entrance to a contemplative remembrance glade at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) managed by the Royal British Legion. The spiral concept was imagined by FIRA Landscape Architects, who have been sensitively working with the NMA for over a decade.

This is the first time a meditative memorial with horticulture at the heart of the design has been created. The Helix forms the gateway that leads visitors along a journey of remembrance to a second gateway and entrance into a woodland glade, which is set out in a perfect circle formed by white stemmed birch underplanted with bulbs and wildflowers. A polished stainless steel mirror sits in the centre flanked by a viewing bank.

Work undertaken

Design

Handspring took FIRA’s initial spiral concept as a starting point. Then, drawing on 20 years of knowledge and experience of steam-bending long lengths of oak into complex curves, designed the multiple spiral curved structure. Handspring wanted to create a structure that was light, graceful and dynamic, with the smoothly flowing forms and multiple helixes suggesting life and progression.

The company chose oak for a number of reasons. A native species with deep and rich cultural associations, oak is one of the wood species most suited to the steam-bending process, is easy to work in its green state, and is very durable in outdoor environments.

Construction

The structure comprises four 15m lengths, each assembled from three sections, with each section made of three pieces of oak steam-bent and glue-laminated together. The main spiral of each length is a section of helix, and helixes of two different radii were used.

For each 5m section Handspring designed a jig that would dictate how the wood was bent and twisted in three dimensions. After designing and building the jigs came the highly physical stage of persuading 5m lengths of oak to take on a new form. The process was one of steaming, bending, letting cool, gluing and re-clamping. This in itself was a complex procedure that the company has been developing and refining over the years. It was a combination of applied experience and learning curve, responding to the behaviour of the wood and adapting the process.

Handspring bought top grade French green oak and milled it up into the 60x20mm laths for steaming. 5m lengths of oak are rarely without blemishes and the company had to contend with knots, shakes and short grain, as well as the hard-to-predict ways that green oak will behave when steam-bent into complex shapes, then exposed to the hot sun and dry air of the sunniest Spring on record.

The separate sections were then half-lapped and glued together and each helix/wave connected to the others with stainless steel screws and brass tubing. Moisture-curing polyurethane glue was used, as well as lots and lots of clamps.

Installation

The images show the entrance sculpture as a temporary installation outside Handspring's workshop prior to installation.

The sculpture will float off the ground on minimal steel legs.