The built environment conditions our lives and we are always discovering. Whether they are imposing, inspiring, subtle or specular, the structures that surround us have always been designed to influence the way we see. 40ft Riveted Beam emulates building methods of the industrial age. While bridges and old factory designs of the Victorian era focused on function over form, my work takes the aesthetic out of an industrial context and places it into the realm of contemporary sculpture. This is reinforced by replacing the labour-intensive methods of the industrial age with techniques that take advantage of modern and lightweight materials. Using MDF to imitate the over-engineered qualities of iron and steel, the piece also conveys a theatrical element through its deception.