Housed within a 30m tall pavilion, this monumental artwork is the centrepiece of a permanent memorial to the UAE’s Founding Father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Designed by Ralph Helmick, renowned for his large-scale suspended sculptures, the fabrication and installation united the best of our specialist engineering capabilities.

The artwork comprises 1,327 platonic solids suspended on 1,110 vertical steel wire cables. The Constellation is a monumental three-dimensional portrait of Sheikh Zayed that can be viewed from multiple vantage points around the memorial. Extensive prototyping determined the best way to manufacture the solids, how to attach them cleanly and accurately to the cables, how to keep the cables correctly tensioned, and the best means of installation.

There were just 14 months from design concept to reveal. Craftsmanship, precision and tightly controlled processes, however, delivered an elegant, robust and truly stunning piece of public art.