Pike Loop Robotic Arm

An industrial sized robotic arm has recently taken up residency in the pedestrian island on Pike Street between Division and East Broadway.  Code named “R-O-B,” the high-tech human-operated machine is part of the Pike Loop installation sponsored by the Storefront for Art and Architecture.  We stopped by yesterday to scope the progress, and there’s already a wavy brick wall in the works.  It was hard to avoid the spectacle and watch as the arm played a complex game of Jenga.  Passersby were all equally amazed, with F-bombs of confusion dropped somewhat regularly.

Designed by Swiss architects Gramazio and Kohler, the exhibit should be complete by the inauguration date of October 27, and will be on display until January 5.  According to the official press release:

Positioned on the central mall on Pike Street, the robot will work for up to four weeks – in full view of the public – to construct a brick wall, a highly sculptural response to the specific identity of the site. For the Pike Loop installation, more than seven thousand bricks aggregate to form an infinite loop that weaves along the pedestrian island. In changing rhythms the loop lifts off the ground and intersects itself at its peaks.