Client: City of San Jose Public Art Program

Overview

Layers of metal transform into a uniquely organized pattern framed by rays that extend up behind the City of San Jose. The three figures in the landscape celebrate firefighters and emergency managers working for the safety of the public. The city of San Jose is represented in the downtown cityscape, local historic and cultural sites and neighborhood homes. The colors, metal finishes, composition and placement of the artwork works within the architectural lines of the buildings and colors at the site.
Details of this design include the Cesar Chavez Meeting Hall, historic Greenawalt House/Vietnamese Museum and the Peralta Adobe, the oldest building in San Jose. The mathematically complex centerpiece that holds the elements of the artwork together is the unique quasicrystal non-repeating pattern.

Goals

RESILIENT CITY was created through a commission from the San Jose Public Art Program for the new San Jose Fire Department Training Center and Office of Emergency Management.
This work of art is a symbol in public space for these two different but related centers that work to mitigate disasters providing operational and tactical response in collaboration with and in service to the community. It was important to create an artwork that integrated visually with the site and architecture while communicating to the public and honoring first responders.

Process

The design process included discussions with the San Jose Fire Chief and Emergency Managers to arrive at a visual interpretation of the nature of mitigating disasters which lies in recognizing patterns that never repeat, preparing for this eventuality and training tactically to respond and then recover. Fabricated by One Hat One Hand this project required extensive interface with the construction team to coordinate materials, prep and installation.