The Obelisk has marked public space for millennia. The “Cyclisk” is a unique interpretation of monumental public art for Santa Rosa, California.
The result of a design competition using recycled materials, the Cyclisk was designed by artists Mark Grieve and Ilana Spector. The project is a 65’ traditionally shaped obelisk made from discarded bicycles. The artists collected 340 unusable bicycles from all over California to create the four-inch-thick skin of this large landmark structure. It fills what was once a small, open space between businesses, streets, and parking lots. Crafting a landfill-bound material into a “polished form” creates a tower of brilliant colors and intriguing shapes that leaves viewers both awestruck and effusive. Having already received much notoriety, the city has embraced the piece as a part of its cycling culture.
The Cyclisk was constructed using an efficient steel-trussed superstructure designed by ZFA Structural Engineers to be both light-weight and efficient, using readily available structural steel angles and reinforced connections. The unusable bicycles were cleaned, then welded together and attached to the superstructure to create the obelisk form. The superstructure weighs approximately 10,000 pounds and rests upon a 10’-tall formal concrete pedestal, also designed by ZFA. The $37,000 community art piece was commissioned by the City of Santa Rosa for Santa Rosa Nissan as a part of its “Art in Public Spaces” program.