Client: State Library Archive Museum

Overview

I designed a modern urban plaza, the landscape architecture, and twelve exterior sculptures. The exterior sculptures, include five True North works, two Stone Axis Disks, Gateway and Light Veil (40 foot scrim). The plaza is 75,000 sq ft.

Goals

The goal of integrating the exterior sculptures into the plaza was to create a modern urban plaza that reflected a coherent theme defining space, place, way finding and destination. The theme is highly reactive/responsive to the architecture & landscape, environment - especially for the sense of arrival and entry. One of the main design principles was to provide a modern and timeless approach that would avoid predictable motifs (e.g., literal representations of salmon, bears, water features).

Process

This was a large scale multiyear (4) project. The team included: clients, architects, engineers, % for art reps, general contractors, sub contractors, interior designers, landscape architects, community, fabrication and installation specialists. Each brought specialized skills to the dialogue. The design process involved 6 site visits, regular conference calls to review and present plans, materials, scheduling and designs as they were being developed. Most importantly my conferences with the client gave a clear/defining focus for the direction of the project. The team in a coordinated effort, proceeded to develop and execute on a design that met the aesthetic goals, and requirements for engineering, architecture, schedule and budget.

Additional Information

The primary goal was to deliver an urban plaza complete with sculptural elements of a timeless nature. It was paramount that the plaza become an iconic, authentic feature integrated with the architecture and the environment.