The Floating Piers
For 16 days Italy’s Lake Iseo will be reimagined. 100,000 square meters of shimmering yellow fabric, carried by a modular floating dock system of 220,000 high-density poly-ethylene cubes, will undulate with the movement of the waves as The Floating Piers rise just above the surface of the water.
From June 18 to July 3, 2016.
In the spring and summer of 2014, Christo, Vladimir Yavachev - Operations Director, Wolfgang Volz - Project Manager, and Josy Kraft - Registrar/Curator, scouted the lakes of Northern Italy. Along with Project Director Germano Celant, they found Lake Iseo to be the most inspiring location. Lake Iseo is located 100 kilometers east of Milan and 200 kilometers west of Venice.
A 3-kilometer-long walkway will be created as The Floating Piers extend across the water of Lake Iseo. Visitors will experience this work of art by walking on it from Sulzano to Monte Isola and to the island of San Paolo, which is framed by The Floating Piers.
The piers will be 16 meters wide and approximately 35 centimeters high with sloping sides. The fabric will continue along 1.5 kilometers of pedestrian streets in Sulzano and Peschiera Maraglio.
The Floating Piers will be the artists' first large scale project since Christo and Jeanne-Claude realized The Gates in 2005. As with all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s projects, The Floating Piers will be funded entirely through the sale of Christo’s original works of art. After the 16-day exhibition, all components will be removed and industrially recycled.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude have a long history of creating projects in Italy: Wrapped Fountain and Wrapped Medieval Tower in Spoleto, 1968; Wrapped Monuments in Milan, 1970; and The Wall – Wrapped Roman Wall in Rome, 1973–74.
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Christo
The Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy)
Collage 2014 - 17 x 22" (43.2 x 55.9 cm)
Pencil, wax crayon, enamel paint, photograph by Wolfgang Volz, map, fabric sample and tape
Christo
The Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy)
Collage 2014
15 1/4 x 13 7/8" (38.7 x 35.2 cm)
Pencil, wax crayon, enamel paint, photograph by Wolfgang Volz, technical data, fabric sample and tape
Christo
The Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy)
Collage 2014 - 22 x 17" (55.9 x 43.2 cm)
Pencil, wax crayon, enamel paint, photograph by Wolfgang Volz, technical maps, fabric sample and tap
Christo
The Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy)
Drawing 2014 - 65 x 15" and 65 x 42" (165 x 38 cm and 165 x 106.6 cm)
Pencil, charcoal, pastel, wax crayon, enamel paint, cut-out photographs by Wolfgang Volz, topographic map, fabric sample and tape
Christo
The Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy)
Drawing 2014 in two parts - 15 x 96" and 42 x 96" (38 x 244 cm and 106.6 x 244 cm)
Pencil, charcoal, pastel, wax crayon, enamel paint, hand-drawn map, cut-out photographs by Wolfgang Volz, fabric sample and tape
Christo
The Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy)
Drawing 2015 in two parts - 96 x 42" and 96 x 15" (244 x 106.6 cm and 244 x 38 cm)
Pencil, charcoal, pastel, wax crayon, enamel paint, cut-out photographs by Wolfgang Volz, hand-drawn map, fabric sample and tape
Christo
The Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy)
Collage 2015 - 11 x 8 1/2" (28 x 21.5 cm)
Pencil, wax crayon, enamel paint, photograph by Wolfgang Volz, aerial photograph and fabric sample
Christo
The Floating Piers (Project for Lake Iseo, Italy)
Drawing 2015 in two parts - 65 x 42" and 65 x 15" (165 x 106.6 cm and 165 x 38 cm)
Pencil, charcoal, enamel paint, cut-out photographs by Wolfgang Volz, map, fabric sample and tape
Map indicating the fabric on pedestrian streets in Sulzano
Map indicating the fabric on pedestrian streets on Monte Isola
Christo in his studio working on a preparatory drawing for The Floating Piers, New York, November 2015
During the life-size test at Montecolino, Christo is obviously delighted as the piers undulate with the movement of the waves, Lake Iseo, October 2015
At the textile manufacturer Setex, 90,000 square meters of shimmering yellow fabric are produced, Greven, Germany, August 2014
At geo – die Luftwerker, 75,000 square meters of yellow fabric are sewn into panels, Lübeck, Germany, February 2016
At a factory in Fondotoce at Lago Magiore, 200,000 high-density polyethylene cubes are manufactured over a period of eight months before delivered to the project’s storage in Montecolino, January 2016
At the headquarters in Montecolino, construction workers assemble the piers, which are produced in 100-meter-long segments and stored outside Montecolino on Lake Iseo, January 2016
Aerial view of the project’s building yard on the Montecolino peninsula (right) and the temporary storage on Lake Iseo (left), February 2016
A diver connects a rope made of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), covered with a polyester protective layer with a breaking load of 20 metric tons, to one of the anchors on the lakebed to keep the piers in place, March 2016
Frames are attached underneath the cubes to the deadweight anchors on the lakebed with rope made of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), covered with a polyester protective layer and with a breaking load of 20 metric tons, April 2016
Workers start to encircle the island of San Paolo with the first floating elements, April 2016
The felt that will cover the cubes underneath the yellow fabric is transported from Montecolino to San Paolo island by Elimast Helicopter Service, May 2016
Workers install the felt that will cover the floating cubes before the yellow fabric is installed, May 2016
Workers install the felt that will cover the floating cubes before the yellow fabric is installed, May 2016
One by one, workers install the 100 by 16 meter sections to connect the island of San Paolo with the island of Monte Isola, May 2016
