Client: Anchorage 1% for Art Program

Overview

Unfurl exists as a sculptural archway for students as they enter and exit the school. It is a work designed to exemplify young life but is framed within the broader scope of time – similar to the visual correlations between the young spiral of fiddlehead ferns and the curl of ocean waves. Both can be seen from the school’s playground.

Scale is an important criterion for the highway viewer. Also important is a work that creates dynamic movement as the viewer moves – whether on the playground or from the highway.

Unfurl incorporates a moire pattern as a key component for the moving viewer while providing details of interest for those at the school.

Goals

The goal was to connect the young life of an elementary school to the surrounding landscape that held the ancient rhythm of the tides. Fiddlehead ferns as they reach for the sun in Spring contain a spiral form reminiscent of a curling wave. This connected these two positions through an arching gateway near the school door.

Process

The collaborations included:
• Anchorage School District
• Franklin & Assoc - engineering
• StellFab - fabrication
• Walsky Construction - installation