We are structural engineers, specialising in the design, fabrication and installation of artworks.

Some examples of completed projects follow…

Photograph © Thierry Bal, 2022

With the help of colleagues from Expedition Engineering, we designed and assisted with the installation of Jyll Bradley’s The Hop at the Hayward Gallery, part of London’s Southbank Centre. The installation became a much-visited and much-loved presence on the Hayward’s sculpture terrace in 2022. It survived longer than many of the Hayward’s recent, temporary sculpture commissions, and we hope that it might soon find a new home in another exciting location.

Photo © Monica Torres, 2021

We have provided structural engineering design services to Julian Opie‘s studio. We did the structural engineering design for these two 12 metre tall figures, Suit and Leggings, which sat on Plaza del Colegio del Patriarco, Valencia. We worked with fabricators Flysteel Metallic Structures, in Porto to deliver this project for Fundacion Hortensia Herrero as part of a major exhibition of Julian’s recent work. Both Suit and Leggings have since been relocated to a very different setting in the Spanish countryside.

We were the structural engineer for Jonathan H. Wright‘s Data Tree which landed in Lesnes Abbey Wood, East London as part of the Estuary Festival 2021. This project was another opportunity to work with Ashley Light Engineering and Artful Logistics in the installation of this magical artwork. Data Tree is located in a clearing, in woodland forming part of the ancient Lesnes Abbey estate.  

 © The Guardian online, August 2020

Photo © Thomas J. Price studio, 2020We worked with The Line and London Bronze Casting to deliver Reaching Out by Thomas J. Price . This important artwork was installed at Three Mills Green, Bromley-by-Bow, East London in the summer of 2020. This was in the midst of the Covid pandemic, and immediately followed the Black Lives Matter protests following the brutal murder of George Floyd. The statue was installed, in the public realm, following the toppling of the Colston statue in Bristol. 

Photograph © David Levene, 2019

We worked with Pentagram and Fish Fabrications to deliver Yuri Suzuki’s Welcome Chorus at Turner Contemporary, Margate.

© London Bronze Casting, 2019

We helped London Bronze Casting to deliver the Greenman, sculpture at Anthology’s Deptford Foundry development in Southeast London.

© Memory Cake Photography, 2018

We were the engineer and fabricator of Ash to ash, an artwork by internationally-renowned artists Ackroyd & Harvey. We fabricated the artwork from two recently-felled Ash trees and 10,000, slightly tapered ash staves, or “arrows” hand-made by Tom Mareschall and Adam Jenkins at Now Strike Archery.

Final installation of the artwork, at White Horse Wood Country Park, was carried-out by art freight specialists Mtec in collaboration with the artists.

The artwork was commissioned by Kent Downs AONB Unit as part of The Ash Project – an urgent cultural response to the devastating effects of ash die-back which will see the majority of the UK’s ash trees die-out over the course of the next decade.

© John Sturrock, 2017

We provided structural engineering consultancy services to Turner Contemporary and Moosejaw Woodworks in connection with DOES THE ITERATIVE FIT, an artwork by artists Joanne Tatham & Tom O’Sullivan.

The artwork was originally commissioned by King’s Cross Central as their 2017 Christmas tree on London’s Granary Square.

The artwork was installed at Turner Contemporary in Margate as their 2018 Christmas tree.

© Simeon Boys-Layton, 2017

We were engineer, fabricator, and installer of Jyll Bradley’s Dutch Light for Agneta Block. The artwork was commissioned by Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust in 2017 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Dutch Raid on the English Naval Fleet. Godber & Co. fabricated and installed the artwork at Chatham Historic Dockyard.

In the summer of 2017, we then relocated Dutch Light to Turner Contemporary, Margate where it became an Instagram sensation.

Dutch Light is currently installed on Aldgate Square as part of Sculpture in the City – the annual outdoor sculpture festival hosted by the City of London.

We were the structural engineer and installer of these beautiful waymarkers by the artist Jonathan H. Wright.

In addition to guiding walkers around Bishopstoke Park, Jonathan’s waymarkers tell the story of the site. We undertook the structural design of the waymarker posts and their foundations. We worked alongside the artist, and fabricator Ashley Light Engineering to deliver the project for Anchor and Eastleigh Council.

© photographer unknown*

Constellation is another artwork by Jonathan H. Wright. It is the first artwork to stand on the Hove Plinth.

The artwork is based on an orrery (a mechanical model of the solar system). The sculpture sits on a slewing ring bearing enabling it to rotate freely.

We designed the structure to ensure that it was able to stand-up under the worst credible combination of wind loads, and the occasional live load from visitors to the seafront at Hove. Critically, for the artist, we kept the structural members as slender as possible to avoid compromising the visual appearance of the artwork.

We collaborated with artist, Gayle Chong Kwan, and fabricator, BIG SODA, on The People’s Forest installation at the Barbican Centre in late 2017.

Godber & Co. provided structural engineering design consultancy services to the artist; and worked with Sam and Rolo at BIG SODA, and the staff of the Barbican Centre to design and install the artwork.

© Thierry Bal, 2014

We were the structural engineer and installer of Green Light for MR by Jyll Bradley.

Green Light was commissioned for the Folkestone Triennial 2014. The artwork is much-loved by residents and visitors to Folkestone and now forms part of the permanent collection in the town.

Godber & Co. collaborated on this artwork with framer and fabricator, Mark Darbyshire; with Goldings Agricultural Services; the students of the University of Kent; Reynolds Construction Ltd; and Martello Building Consultancy.

© Robert Orchardson, 2015

We worked with artist Robert Orchardson on this beautiful, artwork We are the sky.

Godber & Co. provided the structural engineering design, enabling Rob to achieve a beautifully elegant and build-able solution for supporting the artwork from a rooflight over a stairwell on campus at Loughborough University.

© Chris de Bode, 2017

We provided engineering services to Install Archive in connection with the design of this de-mountable exhibition stand for the Panos Pictures Agency.

© expedition, 2015

We worked alongside colleagues from expedition engineering; Andrea Micheletti from the University of Rome Tor Vergata; Simon Guest and colleagues at the University of Cambridge; and ES Global to deliver the Tensegritree at the University of Kent.

The Tensegritree was commissioned by the University of Kent in 2015 to commemorate 50 years since the founding of the University, and the 10th anniversary of the founding of Kent School of Architecture.

© Daniel Swallow, 2014

We were the structural engineer for the redevelopment and refurbishment of the Delfina Foundation‘s London HQ.

Godber & Co. worked in collaboration with Los Angeles-based engineers Nous; Studio Octopi architects; and City Interiors to provide Delfina with a new home from which to facilitate ongoing cultural exchange with artists from the Middle East and North Africa.

We have more than twenty years’ experience providing architectural, civil and structural engineering design services to public and private institutions, homeowners, and developers.

Whilst the focus of our business in recent times has been on providing services to the art world we do, every now and then, get involved with more conventional construction projects.

*if we have used your photograph on our website and haven’t credited you correctly, do get in touch and let us know. We think your photo is great, and we want to make sure that we credit you properly.