CASE STUDY : Phoebe Foundation; Donor Recognition
Donor Recognition Sculpture
CLIENT: Heurista
SERVICES: Production Design, Fabrication, Installation
DESCRIPTION:
The Phoebe Foundation commissioned a standout donor recognition installation to honor contributors to their new trauma center in Albany, Georgia. Collaborating with design consulting firm Heurista, Wellcraft MFG was selected to fabricate the donor recognition display—an ambitious 48-foot-tall suspended sculpture spanning four stories in the main lobby’s stairwell.
Client Concept
The conceptual artwork for the donor sculpture was the first thing that caught our attention on this project. The design featured a spiral structure suspended from the ceiling, with multicolored donor plaques—each displaying a donor's name—hanging from it. Positioned at the center of the hospital’s main lobby stairwell, the sculpture would allow the names to be viewed from all angles around the open staircase.
Challenges
The concept for the sculpture itself is rather simplistic in terms of design. However, when it came to fabrication it we had to solve for a few fabrication challenges:
Creating a spiral structure that also tapers down to a single point
Ensuring the spiral aligns with the predetermined mounting points in the ceiling
Connecting the donor plaques to the main structure
The centerpiece of the sculpture was a spiraling, ovular helix—designed to twist downward in a smooth, continuous curve. This form created a dynamic sense of movement through the space while allowing donor plaques to be staggered vertically and radially for visibility from multiple angles throughout the four-story stairwell.
Designing the helix was one challenge—engineering it to align precisely with fixed anchor points in the ceiling was another. We redrew the ceiling mounts in CAD and designed the helix to match, then worked with our production team to have the steel tubing CNC bent to ensure it hit all mounting points while maintaining a consistent spiral.
After forming the structure, we sectioned it for transport and outfitted each segment with inserts and set screws to establish alignment points for reassembly. Even with those in place, we needed to fine-tune the wire rope system during install to ensure the sculpture hung perfectly centered.
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To prepare for the install, we used our 60’ crane truck to suspend the structure outside our shop and mock up the full spiral. This helped us finalize wire lengths and test fit the system before heading to the site.
With the helix mocked up, we drilled and tapped over 250 holes for the donor plaques. Each plaque was attached using stainless steel cable and small set screws to ensure consistent vertical spacing.
Once on site, we reassembled the spiral, suspended it from the ceiling mounts, and began the long process of mounting and adjusting each plaque—bringing the full sculpture into alignment and completing one of the most complex installations we’ve taken on to date
