this wasn’t the FIRST time I ever made an Eiffel Tower ice sculpture, but it was quite a while back. It’s pretty melted too, but actually, you can see that it’s holding it’s shape pretty well. Kinda crappy presentation though; but I don’t know that that was my department for this one 🤷♂️
my Eiffel Tower ice sculpture design
updated a bit 4/14/23 when added to iss
I was kinda puzzled when I read what I’d wrote in 2007 about my Eiffel Tower ice sculpture design. (See below where it mentions the old post.) I must have been in a hurry, as it’s the only explanation. Except for the info about carvers, it reads like a photo caption in an encyclopedia. There is so much more to be said about La Tour Eiffel, both about the structure itself and about sculpting ice versions of it. I can at least write a little more, certainly.
During one of my trips to Bruges, Belgium to sculpt for a large ice event, we were able to take a quick trip to Paris. So I got to see the Eiffel Tower in person! Somewhere, I have my own photos, so I’ll add those when I find them. It’s an amazing structure and I wish that I’d had more time to spend there. But when you only get one day in Paris, you have to move fast.
The way things turned out, we had to blow off the Louvre, which is a crime if you ask me! (Not that there would have been time to see a significant part of it; I’ve heard days or weeks are required to get a good feel for that place.)
about the structure of the actual tower
Regarding the structure of the Eiffel Tower, I’m sure you know that it looks pretty much the same from all four sides. Meaning that it doesn’t fit well into an ice block that’s half as thick as it is wide. The version here is kind of a skinny version. At a later date, perhaps I can post another version, but the gist of things is that you would use two stacked 20”x20”x10” block sections, welded together to get you up at least past the base and lowest section of the tower. (You end up with a cube shape.) After that, the typical 10 inch thickness of a block is enough to finish the tower.
This way takes more than one block and is far more difficult to carve (You really should have 4 templates for it.), but it’s much more realistic. Well, I’ll leave more details for another time.
the text from the old post
Considered by many to be one of the most romantic spots in the world, the Eiffel Tower is one of the most distinctive structures ever built. It has become an icon for Paris since it was built in 1889. Many carvers have carved this sculpture and it works very well in ice because of its striking silhouette and balanced structure.
yeah, I don’t know what to put right here except that take your time with it if you can and it’s really important that everything looks straight. This is the Eiffel Tower, not the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
how would I handle it on a CNC?
I’ve seen examples of Eiffel Tower ice sculptures run on CNCs many times. Some worked out better than others. I’ve tried it myself with a pretty large tower. It kinda worked. I had some trouble in particular with the angles of the legs. I’ll come back to this I’m sure, when someone orders it again 🙂
but wait, there's more!
If you have any questions about the Eiffel Tower ice sculpture design, email me or comment below. If you would like to use this ice sculpture design or any other design on this site, please check the design usage guidelines. I don’t have much in the way of French ice sculpture designs except for the Tower, but the design collection page lists designs on the site.
You might also find photos and info from this entry on the ice sculpting secrets facebook page and you can comment there as well as below. Thanks!
