Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island in New York City, USA; It is a monumental sculpture and observation tower that became the symbol of the USA. The sculpture was made by France and it was given to the USA as it is the 100th anniversary of its establishment.
Özgürlük Anıtı – © aysetolga.com
Sculpture is holding a torch in his right hand, and an oath in his left hand. The crown on the head has 7 spikes and 7 spikes representing 7 seas. Isabelle Eugenie Boyer, the wife of Isaac Singer, the founder of Singer sewing machines. You can reach the island by ferry first and then use the stairs in the monument to reach the torch. Let’s say the stairs are tough. Because the statue itself is 46 meters high, with the base reaches 93 meters. The height of the right hand holding the torch is 13 meters and the height of the torch around 15 people can move around at the same time. These 350 pieces are assembled on the pedestal in 4 months.
Birleştirilmeye hazır parçalar – © ia.tmgrup.com.tr
The sculpture made of copper has a craftsmanship. Eiffel, who was one of the iron masters of his time, proved himself with the bridges and other structures he had done until then. For the Statue of Liberty a cage made of cast iron in the middle and a spiral staircase around it used a building solution. It has attached a secondary skeleton that is not a load carrier to the tower. This secondary skeleton is designed to make the sculpture expand and contract. This flexibility, that is, the connections that allow the movement of the tower in a trace amount, is a method of construction against strong winds. The second skeleton is covered with iron saddle or iron bands and then it is insulated with asbestos to prevent galvanic corrosion which may occur between different metals and covered with hand-beaten bars separately.
Heykelin konstrüksiyon detaylarının bir çeşit gösterimi – © dumielauxepices.net
Eiffel solved the arm part of the structure that is expected to be a problem with his mastery again. As he has done with his previously constructed works, he has added the protrusions to make the arm structure an extension of the main structure. With the secondary beams to fit the shape of the copper plates, it has created an attachment to the structure and thus freed the structure from the idea of putting a support underneath to carry the arm that is completely opposite to the design. The spiral staircases that continued until the beginning of the sculpture continued on the arm bearing torch.
The inner skeleton made of iron material is covered with copper plates. These copper plates to be given the desired shape; The plates were hammered on the boards quite resistant. Even though it takes a long time to apply, the construction technique is quite simple. First of all, the workers made the frame molds by combining the woods with each other. These are molds that are formed to cover the skeletons with gypsum plaster. The frame, which was completed by using a hard wood, then proceeded to the gypsum plaster stage after the skeleton stage. In the pictures below, we see the construction of the hand holding the torch; wooden frame mold made of wedges and gypsum plaster applied on it … Single layer plaster is not enough for such a large structure. When the desired sensitivity could not be obtained, the first layer was cracked and then re-plastered to the places that did not fit the original drawings. Sanded, cut and modeled to capture perfection.
Meşaleyi tutan eli kaplamak için çıkartılan kalıpların ve üzerine yapılan alçı sıvanın hazırlandığı atölye – © wonders-of-the-world.net
Let’s continue with another photo. A photograph of one of the workshops used to make the copper plates that make up the outer part of the statue, which is the next stage after the plaster. The copper plates, which were beaten and smashed, provided the workers with the convenience of working. These copper sheets between 1 and 3 m² were brought to the template and brought to the desired consistency with the pressure arm and hammer. In order to facilitate hammering, the plates were heated. The result is a tough workmanship to the desired consistency.
Özgürlük Anıtı’nın ilk yapıldığı zamanlardaki rengi – © kwout.com
When the sculpture was first built, it had a shade of red / brown shades, the unique color of copper. Over time, as a result of the oxidation of the copper mine with a green layer, it became green as we know it today.
