Bryony Roberts Studio commissioned Powerhouse Arts to fabricate Soft Civic, a site-specific work that aims to enhance the public gathering space in front of City Hall in Columbus, Indiana as a destination for play, performance, and participation. Our team created nine knotted macramé panels of unusual shapes involving compound curves, reaching heights over 11’, and widths as wide as 16’, which were installed in the public plaza in August 2019.

The scope of the project included material sourcing, overseeing custom dyeing of 36,000 feet of braided nylon cord to mimic the color of Columbus’ City Hall, hand-tying close to 20,000 knots, tightening and maintaining a custom gradient knot pattern for each panel, and developing a fabrication system that allowed us to work fluidly in concert with other subcontractors across the country.