Parts of the the glass blocks are being torn off to fix a drainage problem. Photo / Dean Purcell
Parts of the the glass blocks are being torn off to fix a drainage problem. Photo / Dean Purcell
KEY POINTS:
Less than four months after being unveiled, the $250,000 glass and light sculpture on Queen St is being repaired.
The company that installed the sculpture, Dominion Constructors, is tearing up some of the glass blocks to fix a drainage problem.
The Auckland City Council's CBD project manager, JoWiggins, said the contractor was liable for the work because the drainage was not properly installed.
Dominion's Queen St project manager, Richard Joseph, acknowledged the company was at fault and was fixing the problem at its own cost of about $5000.
The company made provision for the sculpture when it laid new paving in the area outside the Civic Theatre about a year ago, he said.
When the company returned to install the sculpture in July, it made the mistake of filling drainage holes with grout. Water was getting into the glass blocks with nowhere to drain.
The sculpture has been cordoned off. Pavers have been lifted and holes dug through concrete in front of each of the five glass and steel blocks so water can drain.
The artwork is made up of hundreds of pale green and clear glass panes stacked in the five, 600kg blocks set in a "river line" to represent the Horotiu Stream that once flowed down Queen St. The blocks are lit below by light-emitting devices.
Former Mayor Dick Hubbard unveiled the sculpture, Source, on July 30, saying it was "an absolutely stunning addition to our main street".
But it soon came in for criticism and glass artist Elizabeth McClure demanded her name be removed from a plaque set in the pavement.
She was paid $12,000 for conceptual work. The largest cost was $178,000 for production. The council has agreed to remove her name and is laying a new plaque calling the sculpture "a collaborative project".
