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When imagination meets craftsmanship

Fabricator brings symbol to life for local university

The larger-than-life stainless steel fleur-de-lis appears to sit effortlessly on the surface on the water fountain on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus. The curved, three-sided design—fabricated by local company BEGNEAUD, allows people to enjoy the sculpture from all angles.

The fleur-de-lis is a symbol that holds a certain degree of cultural significance in the state of Louisiana. These days, though, the massive 14-ft., three-sided stainless steel version of the fleur-de-lis that sits atop a water fountain at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Quadrangle is a giant representation of what can happen when you mix imagination with talent along with some good old-fashioned craftsmanship.

It All Started With a Blue Dog

A couple of things are interesting about this project. First, more than 100 UL Lafayette students had a hand in the idea generation and design of the fleur-de-lis sculpture over the course of five years. It was all part of a project held in conjunction with a community design workshop group led by the director of the School of Architecture and Design. Much of the prefabrication work had been done by those students, who then approached Don Begneaud, CEO of Lafayette-based BEGNEAUD, to fabricate the structure.

We’ll get to more of that in a bit. The second interesting aspect about this project has to do with the fleur-de-lis’ three-sided design. According to Begneaud, the inspiration came after several students saw the three-sided “Blue Dog” sculpture in Metairie, La., designed by famed local artist George Rodrigue. Begneaud was very familiar with the artist because his father was a collector of some of Rodrigue’s earlier work. Since then it was always his dream to collaborate with him.

“I ran across George a lot in airports. I’d always suggest that we work together on a project,” Begneaud said.

As several years went by, the company began designing and fabricating furniture, including three-sided table legs that would support a glass or granite tabletop.

“So George called me up one day and asked me to meet him at this restaurant called the Blue Dog Café, which was his restaurant at the time. He drew out the silhouette of this dog and then he asked me if we could make it three-sided. I thought it was so wild because what he wanted me to do was exactly what I was already doing with the furniture.”

From there Begneaud and Rodrigue collaborated on several “Blue Dog” sculptures, and the rest is history.

Combining Imagination, Talent, and Craftsmanship

As you can imagine, fabricating a 14-ft., 3,000-lb. fleur-e-lis sculpture—or anything, for that matter—poses its share of challenges. People may see simple lines and shapes on the outside, but it’s anything but simple on the inside, said Begneaud.

Whether it be the blue dog or the fleur-de-lis, the design aspects surrounding the internal structure are incredibly important. The fleur-de-lis was actually made in three modules that Begneaud likens to rocket ship shapes stacked on top of each other.

“We made sample pieces of each section that were the full size and length. We were able to make various components that were used on the inside, and we made the components and proved it out that it was going to work. We wanted to be able to stack the lower module, middle module, and the upper module on top of each other and to be accurate to within thousandths of an inch.”

Transporting the massive sculpture was a challenge. The piece was mounted to the truck inside the shop. However, BEGNEAUD had to cut off certain bracketry on the trailer just to make it fit out the door!

Begneaud credits good 3-D software and precision laser equipment for making that work.

As for the surface finish?

“The final finish on it is old-fashioned craftsmanship. That fish scale was achieved by polishing it with a Scotch-Brite™. The Smith brothers, two of the guys that work for me, are both highly skilled with a right-angle grinder with sandpapers and Scotch-Brite. There’s an art to that.”

Once the sculpture was finished, the final challenge was getting it out of the building.

“It was quite a task to transport across town with wide-load permits. We had it mounted on the trailer inside the building, but at the last minute we had to cut some of the bracketry that was mounted on the trailer because it wouldn’t fit out the door. It was interesting.”

The final product is a three-sided fleur-de-lis that appears to be floating atop an infinity pool surrounded by a lower pool and water fountains.

“I love it. It gives me goosebumps to see it. I’ve liked metal art since I was a kid. We hope to be able to continue with combining our industrial work, which is the bulk of our business, with these monuments. It’s something that is fun and we enjoy getting involved with the community and state.”

BEGNEAUD CEO Don Begneaud credits top-notch software and equipment and experienced craftsmen with being able to pull off a project of this size.

About the Author
FMA Communications Inc.

Amanda Carlson

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Amanda Carlson was named as the editor for The WELDER in January 2017. She is responsible for coordinating and writing or editing all of the magazine’s editorial content. Before joining The WELDER, Amanda was a news editor for two years, coordinating and editing all product and industry news items for several publications and thefabricator.com.