Hydro-Bio-Geo

Description: At this companion piece to a multi-part artwork, Incrementally, located nearby at a detention facility, the artist designed artwork compatible with the character of the park and faced the concrete wall of a storm water detention tank with stone and birdhouses. This artwork addresses SPU’s stewardship of water collection and drainage. 

Artist Statement: The artwork animates the exposed façade of giant new 14 ft. tall storm water holding tank. Three pairs of downspouts and weep holes send water down the wall to a rain garden below. These wet zones will soon become lush and green as they become colonized with moss and ferns. In between, faux-bark facades lead to 29 cavity nesting bird houses embedded in the wall. As the landscape matures, the bird houses will become more attractive nest sites. Runoff from above, chevron patterns in the stone, moss, ferns and cavity-nesting bird houses together animate the façade of this 1.3 million gallon storm water tank. What would have been a blank wall is now a site for natural processes to emerge and become visible.

 Location: Washington Park, Seattle Public Utilities Stormwater Storage Tank, near 29th Avenue East and East Madison Street, Seattle WA  98112