CONDUIT uses the language of industrial scaffolding to articulate a three-sided asymmetrical structure inspired by both Nikola Tesla’s Wardenclyffe tower and the nearby corridor of Hydro transmission towers on the Hamilton Beach strip. Beyond myriad historical associations, the thunderbolt has become a recurring modern motif used to represent energy and imagination in everything from alkaline batteries to comic books, from Shazam! to Ziggy Stardust. The thunderbolt also directly harkens back to images of Tesla in his laboratory using large spiral coils to conduct electrical arcs through the air in spectacular fashion.

This proposal was shortlisted for the Hamilton: The Electric City Public Art Competition, and would have been situated in proximity to the Hamilton beachstrip, an unusual combination of swimmable beach and Hydro corridor.  Below are concept drawings and maquette.