MANDALA COVER PROJECT
Early last year, staff set out to procure a dome to protect the 3-D Mandala housed here at the Center. There were several obstacles to overcome, most apparent the sheer size of the dome - 7.5 feet in diameter and needed to be relatively light weight. Another dilemma was that a dome that size couldn't fit through any of the doorways here at TTC. It would need to be assembled on location.
Enter Heinrich Spillmann... Heinrich has been a devoted loyal student of Khyongla Rato Rinpoche and Khensur Rinpoche since the 80s. Heinrich designed and with help from fellow student Stephan Hiros, built the Kalachakra House used for His Holiness' Kalachakra Initiation at the Paramount Theatre, NYC in 1991 which was also used during His Holiness' initiation in Washington DC in 2011. He also built the throne used in every one of His Holiness' teachings The Tibet Center and Gere Foundation sponsored here in NYC in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013.
On installation day, we spoke with Heinrich about the project…
The Tibet Center - We searched all over the world contacting companies in California, Canada, UK. None of them seemed able to produce what we needed. Then we all looked at each other and said - “let’s ask Heinrich”! And as so many times before, you came to the rescue. We know that this undertaking took many brainstorming sessions and many hours of labor. Can you talk a little bit about your work on the project?
Heinrich Spellmann - Venerable Kensur Rinpoche asked me last November if I think I could build a clear cover of sorts to protect the beautiful and very intricate 3 dimensional Kalachakra mandala house which is on permanent display at the Tibet Center. It urgently needed protection from dust and dirt etc. The mandala house is installed on a custom made wooden octagonal cabinet. The outermost ring of the mandala has a diameter of about 80 inches and sits on a round almost 90 inch diameter platform. We also determined that the cover should be about 42 inches high to comfortably accomodate the mandala house. It quickly became clear that what ever this structure will be it would need to be build in pieces, to then be assembled on location, because the entry door to the space had a maximum width of 36 inches and my car brought further limitation because the pieces would have to be shipped from my studio to The Tibet Center.
After building several sections of full scale mockups and test panels, made out of woodframes etc, i realized I don’t have the setup, the shop or the knowhow to build a safe structure out of wood and so I started to experiment with steel. I found I could weld narrow steel angles together to build much sturdier and structuraly sound frames then I could with wood.
To accommodate the circumference of the mandala an eight sided cover, an octagon, was needed and we further determined that the eight sides should lean in at a 60 degree angle to give more visual access to the mandala. This way one could lean over a little to view the beautiful and intricate house. This resulted in a structure with eight trapezoid panels with an eight sided cover panel on top. The separate welded panels could then be assemble on location and held together with steel screws and fitted with plexiglass panels. Needless to say I was glad that my daughter Sophie remembered her geometry classes so well, I needed a lot of help figuring out all the angles, miters cuts and general geometry of this structure.
My wife Evelyn helped greatly with figuring out the detailing and the finishes and with that, the whole undertaking also became a little family endevour. They also had to put up with all my angsts during the whole process. Thank you so much for that too. And thank you to Venerable Kensure Rinpoche for trusting and empowering me to build this thing, I still don’t understand what ever made him think I could build this. Thank you."
The Tibet Center - Well the cover is now installed and it looks great while in no way hinders the viewing experience of the exhibit. Mission accomplished. We hope this inspires people to come see the mandala. Heinrich, you have been such an integral part of The Tibet Center's history. We are so grateful to you and your wife Evelyn for your herculean efforts on behalf of the center and the Dharma. Many many many thanks.
Visit Heinrich's website to view his brilliant art and designs...