about Fermilab
homeabout Fermilabcontacting Fermilabinquiring mindsvisiting Fermilabeducationsearch
for physicistsFermilab nowpublic eventspublicationsFermilab at workjobspress passhelp/about the site

The Fermilab Campus
Fermilab campus main page  |  architecture  |  ecology/nature

Architecture - Sculptures

Several large pieces of sculpture designed by Dr. Robert Wilson, Fermilab's first director, are prominently placed around the Laboratory.

The Mobius Strip is mounted in the midst of a circular pool atop Ramsey Auditorium. It is built of 3 x 5 inch pieces of stainless steel which were welded on a tubular form eight feet in diameter.

Hyperbolic Obelisk stands at the foot of the reflecting pond in front of Wilson Hall. It is thirty-two feet high, fabricated of three stainless steel plates each one-quarter inch thick.

At the Pine Street entrance to Fermilab, Broken Symmetry straddles the road. This three-span arch, painted bright blue and orange, appears perfectly symmetric when viewed directly from below, but has carefully calculated asymmetry from its other views.

Tractricious, designed by Wilson and constructed by members of the Technical Support Section, sits in front of the Industrial Complex. The structure is comprised of 16 stainless steel outer tubes, made from scrap cryostat tubes from Tevatron magnets, and 16 inner pipes from old well casings. Each tube is free standing and designed to withstand winds up to 80 mph.

Broken Symmetry
Broken Symmetry
Mobius Strip
Mobius Strip
Tractricious
Tractricious


Sculptures by Wilson are also displayed at Harvard University, the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton University.



last modified 12/01/2005   email Fermilab
Security, Privacy, LegalFermi National Accelerator Laboratory