Emily Wheeler ’07, chemical engineering major, models McIntyre’s wings.

Sophomore Gavin McIntyre, who has a dual major in product design and innovation (PDI) and mechanical engineering, was one of 30 finalists in Red Bull’s nationwide “Art of the Can” contest this spring. More than 300 entries, from 44 states and 11 different countries, were submitted.

McIntyre used more than 250 cans of the highoctane sugar and caffeine drink to craft his “Wearable Wings” sculpture. The wings were on display in a special one-week public gallery exhibition at the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter in Boston’s Fort Point Arts District.

McIntyre spent weeks digging through recycling bins on campus to come up with the cans, which he flattened under text books. He used rivets and zip-ties to fasten the cans together. The result: a 10-pound, 3-foot-long metallic set of blue and silver wings that strap on with shoulder harnesses and seat belts.“I had a certain look that I wanted,” says McIntyre. “I wanted a solid, flexible sheet of metal. I wanted the wings to flow.”

“I am in the PDI dual major with mechanical engineering mainly because I love to draw and sketch ideas that I have,” McIntyre says. “The reason I entered the contest was the cans allowed me to work with a new material with a flexible nature that I utilized. And with the slogan ‘Red Bull gives you wings’ in mind, the wearable wings came to life.”

Though this is the first time Red Bull has held the “Art of the Can” contest in the U.S., successful contests have been held throughout the world since 1997.

Originally published in Rensselaer Magazine, Spring 2005

Published April 1, 2005