Client: Oregon Arts Commission / Oregon Institute of Technology

Overview

At nearly 30 feet long and 12 feet tall, Moment is an interactive, thought-provoking experience that integrates a sculptural shade structure and seating into the new showcase entrance to the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Technology at Oregon Tech’s Klamath Falls campus. Inspired by the vision of the CEET as an ecosystem of collaboration and innovation, and by the breathtaking sunset view of Upper Klamath Lake, the flowing forms of the sculpture evoke the movement of water within the Klamath Basin and the flow of knowledge, learning and innovation that takes place at the Center.

Moment offers an opportunity for pause and reflection in a space that is at once serene and dynamic. The pathway to the curved seating bench invites one to interact with the piece and with other viewers, creating moments to sit and catch shade or conversation, or providing a gateway to your next destination on campus.

Goals

Once known as the “Everglades of the West”, the Klamath basin and river have molded a shifting mosaic of landscapes ranging from deep open water to shallow wetlands. The long history of human collaboration and manipulation of the watershed has also shaped a journey that continues to evolve today—often through research and technologies that are the focus of OIT’s College of Engineering and Technology. The Upper Klamath Lake and Link River that the new CEET overlooks are a key passageway in that journey. Moment provides an opportunity to discover a visceral connection between natural beauty of the Klamath Basin and the knowledge, learning and innovation that flows within and throughout the CEET. In addition to the individual or shared “moments” the piece offers, the title also references a fundamental concept in structural engineering.