In just a few years, artist Vincent Gavinet’s colorful sculpture, created to mark the 500th anniversary of Le Havre, has become an iconic landmark of the city.
The curves of this monumental work provide a formal break with the rectilinear architecture of Auguste Perret’s buildings in Le Havre, as did Oscar Niemeyer’s Volcano before them.
The catenary
The two curves that make up the Catène de Containers follow the principles of the catenary: this is the natural shape taken by a wire (or cable) suspended between two points of attachment.”
Reversed, for the sculpture in Le Havre, these two curves allow each of the arches to support its own weight.
This shape is used in architecture for suspension bridges or to build self-supporting arches, such as the “catenary arches” designed by architect Antoni Gaudi for the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, or the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri (United States), which, at 192 meters, is the largest arch ever built by man.
In nature, it is found in the structure of spider webs.
The Container Chain in figures
- 28.5 meters high
- 288 tons
- 36 containers: 21 for the large arch and 15 for the small one.
