Client: Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture

Location: Phoenix, AZ, United States

Completion date: 2017

Project Team

Other

Yoshinori Nito

Industry Resource

Boston Valley Terra Cotta

Landscape Architect

Gavan & Barker, Inc

Industry Resource

Magnum Companies

Overview

The winning competition entry to provide shade adjacent the Pierce Street Market, 'Bloomcanopy' was proposed as a place to not only step momentarily out of the blistering heat while in transit but also pause awhile and have a cool drink. Glazed ceramic ’baguettes’ are inserted into prefabricated powder-coated steel structures. Each canopy contains a different combination of two colors, chosen to stimulate complimentary vibrations within the eye.

Goals

Our desire was for sustained vibrancy in an urban landscape bleached varying shades of beige, not unlike a delicate yet tenacious bloom that finds a fissure in the sidewalk out of which to grow—adding a civic marker to the burgeoning downtown culture of Phoenix. Below the canopy, a groundscape provides seating, beds for planting, and storm run-off.

Process

In collaboration with landscape architects Gavan & Barker, we extended the formal language of the canopy to the paving pattern on the street below to produce an integrated spacial experience. We worked closely with Boston Valley Tile to select a range of custom glazes for the ceramics. Magnum Companies revised the design of structural branches from uniquely faceted triangular limbs to a standardized profile accommodating demands of both budget and Arizona engineers.