Sound Transit South Link Extension Public Art Plan

Future 200th Street Station

S o u t h L i n k E x t e n s i o n : Airport Station to S. 200th Street

L a u r a H a d d a d , A r t i s t Sound Transit Public Art Program March 2011

PUBLIC ART PLAN

Summary South Link Extension Project Overview 1Developing the Public Art Plan 1 Conceptual Vision 1Topographic Alignment 2Atmospheric Performance 2Productive Place 3Applying the Public Art Plan 3Conceptual Diagram of Art Projects 4Summary of Art Projects 5Art Plan Goals and Objectives 6Art Project Types 6

Research and Analysis South Link Extension Light Rail Elements 7Site Context 7

History of the Highline Landscape 8 Development of Sea-Tac Airport 8 Project Constituents & Stakeholders 9 Constituent & Stakeholder Art Guidelines 9 Opportunities 9 Constraints 9 Choreography of Topography and Views 10 Site and Context Features 12 Multi-Modal Transportation 15 Existing Art along South Link Light Rail Line 16 Weather Exposure At S. 200th Street Station 18

Art Project Descriptions

Conceptual Diagram of Art Projects 19 “High Line” 20 “Rain Drains” 22 “Sun Arc: Layered Horizons” 24 “Wind Beam” 26

South Link Extension: Airport to S. 200th Street Station

Public Art Plan

TABLE OF CONTENTS


“The wonder of it all is that what looked for all the world like a diminishing horizon — the art-object’s becoming so ephemeral as to threaten to disappear altogether —has, like some marvelous philosophical riddle, turned itself inside out to reveal its opposite.” - Being and Circumstance, Notes Toward a Conditional Art, by Robert Irwin

1

South Link Extension Project Overview

Sound Transit’s Link light rail line connects downtown Seattle to communities north and south of the central city. It currently operates along 14 miles, with 13 stations extending from Seattle’s Westlake Plaza to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The alignment varies between below-grade (tunnel), at-grade (street level), and above-grade (aerial).

The South Link Extension will continue the Link line approximately 1.6 miles south from the Sea-Tac/Airport Station to a new station at South 200th Street. After leaving the Airport Station, the route will travel along the west side of International Boulevard, turn southwest to cross S. 188th Street, and continue along the east side of 28th Avenue S. to S. 200th Street. The entire South Link Extension alignment is an aerial configuration.

The project has an estimated completion date of 2016, with an estimated ridership of 4,500 daily boardings at the 200th Street Station. Sound Transit is considering implementing the South Link Extension through a design-build contract.

The S. 200th Street Station will be the “beginning/end of the line” until South Link is extended from South 200th Street down the Highway 99 corridor to Highline Community College, Redondo/Star Lake Park-and-Ride, and eventually Tacoma.

Developing the Public Art Plan

The purpose of this Public Art Plan is to:• establish an overall Conceptual Vision for art

projects in the South Link Extension area, • locate specific art projects, and • identify themes, goals, and budgets for specific

art projects.

Laura Haddad, the art planner for the South Link Extension, began work in 2010 as Sound Transit and its consultants initiated planning for the project. In developing this plan, she did the following:• reviewed Sound Transit, Port of Seattle, and City

of SeaTac project plans and related planning documents,

• attended meetings at Sound Transit and coordinated work with the project design team,

• attended meetings with the City of SeaTac to learn about City objectives for the project and receive feedback about art plan progress,

• visited the site at different times of day and in different weather conditions,

• researched the climate, topography, culture and history of the site, and

• developed conceptual ideas.

Art projects identified in this plan will be integrated into surfaces and structures of functional light rail elements in the following locations: • South 200th Street Station • Aerial Guideway and Alignment Right-of-Way

connecting the Airport Station to the South 200th Street Station.

SUMMARY

Conceptual Vision

The Conceptual Vision for the South Link Extension is to use art to heighten one’s sense of surroundings. The artworks should be conceived as thick sensory structures and surfaces devised for highlighting the occurrence of environmental frictions and fissions, rhythms and harmonics.

The art should be conditional and circumstantial, changing its appearance and performance at different speeds, vantages, light conditions, weather events, and seasons, thereby illustrating fluctuations in both the environment and one’s perception of the environment. Ideally, this performative, site-responsive art will reveal aspects of its context at various scales from the microscopic to macroscopic, causing the identity created by the art to be informed by and ingrained in its surroundings. Through this merging of art with site, an authentic sense of place will emerge.

Shifting views caused by motion through the varied topography of the site, and shifting atmospheric effects caused by phenomena of sun, wind, and rain, are the two conditional site attributes on which this art plan focuses.

The art projects described in the plan overlap particular aspects of topography and atmosphere, creating a framework for art that combines, exchanges, condenses, and encapsulates aspects of land, sky, light, air, and water, both conceptually and physically.

2

Olympic and Cascade Mountains. Two majestic ranges comprise the second unique topographic feature of the site, operating on a much grander scale and along an east-west axis extending out from the site: • the Olympic Mountains, fifty miles to the west,

crest to 7,962’ above sea level• the Cascade Mountains, fifty miles to the east,

crest to 14,410’ above sea level at Mount Rainier.

The duality of these two topographic features, which work at such different scales and align along opposite axes, is an exceptional condition that distinguishes the site. Creating art that plays off these features, along with the view corridors and water flows caused by them, is a primary aspect of the Art Plan.

above: satellite image showing site in relation to topographical features, including the Highline and Olympic and Cascade Mountain Ranges

PROJECT SITE

Cascade Mountains

Highline

Puget Sound

Olympic Mountains

Two topographic features distinguish the site:• The Highline• Olympic and Cascade Mountain Ranges.

The Highline. The site is situated along the top of the “Highline,” a ridge of glacial deposits that runs north-south for approximately 10 miles, extending from Burien to Des Moines. The topography drops off from the Highline to both the east and west, affording incredible views of mountain ranges east and west of the light rail alignment.

The topographic choreography of the South Link Extension starts at the Airport Station at 350’ above sea level, and extends south, reaching an elevation of over 400’ at the future 200th Street Station.

Topographic Alignment

The spectrum of regional weather effects offers a fantastic opportunity to create art that acts as a kind of atmospheric “barometer.”

Perception of annual and diurnal fluctuations and rhythms can be heightened through art that is acti-vated by the elements of rain, sun, and wind. This concept is particularly compelling at a site in such close proximity to a major airport, where weather is critical, and on the Highline, where weather events can be viewed at a distance.

Atmospheric Performance

3

Cascade Mountains60-140”

Puget Sound Region30-60”

Olympic Mountainsover 180”

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Wind & weather statistics North America USA Washington Seattle Tacoma Airport Find weather

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Windfinder - Wind & weather statistic Seattle Tacoma Airport

Seattle Tacoma Airport (SEATTLE)Statistics based on observations taken between 1/2007 - 11/2010 daily from 7am to 7pm local time.

Month of yearJan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec SUM01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 1-12

Dominant Wind dir.

Wind probability> = 4 Beaufort (%)

26 21 30 23 14 11 7 9 8 19 22 30 18

AverageWind speed(mph)

9 8 9 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 8

Average air temp. (°F) 42 44 46 51 59 62 68 66 62 53 48 39 53Select month (Help) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Wind directionDistributionSeptember(%)

Wind statistic Wind report Forecast Super Forecast Local forecasts

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left: map of Washington, showing annual precipitation levels

right: Mags Harries and Lajos Heder, Sunflowers (day and night views) below top: chart of annual sunlight levels in Seattle

below bottom: chart of average monthly wind speeds and directions, and air temperatures, at Sea-Tac Airport

Precipitation. The marine climate of the Puget Sound region is characterized by cool, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The area’s geography has a strong influence on precipitation patterns, with the wall of the Cascade Mountains causing weather systems off the ocean to linger over Puget Sound.• During the wet season, rainfall is usually light to

moderate intensity and continuous over a period of time, rather than brief heavy downpours.

• In December and January precipitation is fre-quently recorded on 20 to 25 days each month.

• During July and August, the driest months, it is not unusual for 2 to 4 weeks to pass with little or no precipitation.

Sun. When it does shine through the cloud cover, sunshine is celebrated. Often a day that begins with dark stormy skies can transform into an afternoon characterized by brilliant blue skies. In late summer and early fall, lower valleys are sometimes filled with fog until noon, while at the same time higher eleva-tions are sunny, making for ever-changing skies in the region. • SeaTac’s northern locale at a latitude of 48° N

creates a wide variation in sunlight hours through-out the year.

• At the winter solstice there are just over 8 daylight hours per day, verses 16 at the summer solstice.

• The average number of clear or partly cloudy days each month varies between 4 to 8 in winter, and 15 to 20 in summer.

Another conceptual thread for the artwork is the production and consumption of alternative energy. This ties into the concept of “atmospheric perfor-mance,” as well as Sound Transit’s sustainability agenda for the South Link Extension.

Examples of productive artworks might include:• a light-based piece that produces the energy re-

quired for its illumination through integrated solar cells

• sculptural forms that capture and convey rain water into planting beds.

Ideally, concept and function drive one another syn-ergistically in this inventive typology. The analytical diagrams and charts included in this plan illustrate the site’s exposures to natural elements that could be channeled into both aesthetic effects and energy production.

The underlying goal of this art plan is to link the projects so that their implied interaction creates its own conceptual artwork.

The concepts of topographic alignment, atmospheric performance, and productive place weave together to form a physical-intellectual-sensory construct that layers meaning onto the South Link Extension line, and defines goals and themes for the individual art projects. Each project emphasizes various aspects of topography, atmospheric effects, and energy production.

While the project area is large, dominated by the massive scale of the aerial guideway, the individual artworks will be discrete and discontinuous. However, if tied together through a strong adherence to the Conceptual Vision, dialogues between the projects will unify the site. Furthermore, if artists can collaborate with the design team to incorporate art ideas into architectural elements of the project, the impact of the concepts will be much stronger.

Stated goals and concepts, as well as background information, precedent images, and specific art project locations and guidelines within this document are intended to provide Sound Transit’s Public Art Program (STart) and commissioned artists with a framework that will result in a series of artworks that together form a unified and distinct sense of identity for the South Link Extension. While the art plan should not restrict the development of artworks, it is also important that individual artists work within the Conceptual Vision of the plan so that all the pieces contribute to a cohesive statement that distinguishes the South Link Extension and its related artworks.

Criteria for Artist Selection. Because the projects stretch over a large area, one way to enhance this effect is to commission artists who work in complimentary styles. Artists selected for projects should have a modern aesthetic and be strong conceptual thinkers with a site-specific approach to making art. Ideal candidates will be experienced at working with environmental processes, external media, and architectural integration.

Wind. Situated as it is on the Highline ridge, the site of the South Link Extension is exposed to mild but consistent winds throughout the year. • Predominant winds are generally from the south

or southwest and strongest during late fall and winter.

• The heaviest winds can come from the east.• Wind velocities average 8-10 m.p.h. at SeaTac,

but can reach 40- 50 m.p.h. during winter storms.

Applying the Public Art Plan

Productive Place

4

Conceptual Diagram of Art Projects

5

Art Project Name Site Type of Artwork

Environmental Effects

Stakeholders Artist Budget * Potential Art Elements Concepts & Goals

“Sun Arc:Layered Horizons”

S. 200th Street Station Portal

200th Street Station, at Platform crossing over S. 200th Street

gateway,

immersive experience

sun play off topography

Sound Transit, City of SeaTac

Laura Haddad, Art Planner

$315, 000 + construction credits for architectural elements

• sun-activated glass wind screens• roof canopy• platform paving• LEDs and lights• solar cells• paint or sculptural attachments on

underside of aerial guideway

• foreshortened and compressed evocation of Highline topography, contextual views, and atmospheric effects

• align solar orientation of site with commuter patterns

• experience as a portal from S. 200th Street and as an immersive experience from Station Platform

“Wind Beam”

S. 200th Street Station Beacon

200th Street Station, either mounted to aerial guideway over southernmost column of alignment, or mounted to south end of platform

beacon wind sun

Sound Transit Emerging or Established Artist

$100,00 • wind-activated sculpture mounted to tall posts

• wind turbines• LEDs and lights• sunlight casting through artwork could

cast shadows or colored projections onto station platform

• convey that as light rail continues into the future, it could be fueled by alternative energy

• synthetic, futuristic, abstract art • wind-powered motion in artwork

as a metaphor for motion of trains• allusions to aerodynamics of planes

“Rain Drains”

Storm Water Drainage Channels

Select Columns along Alignment, focused on locations at:• S. 188th Street• S. 192nd Street • S. 198th Street.Drainpipes at Platform of 200th Street Station

unifying element

rain Sound Transit, City of SeaTac

Emerging Artist $75,000 • large-scale sculptural drainpipes on alignment columns

• drainpipes at columns linked to rain gardens at base of columns

• small-scale, simple but sculptural drainpipes at platform of 200th Street Station

• solar-powered lights illuminating drainage features

• capture and transport storm water flows through sculptural channels

• accompany with rain garden design and plantings that evoke motion of storm water and filter storm water

• consider capturing water and then releasing it through a kinetic mechanism

“High Line”

Column Marking

Columns along Alignment extending from 200th Street Station to SeaTac/Airport Station

unifying element

play off topography

Sound Transit, City of SeaTac,Port of Seattle

Established Artist $110,000 • bands wrapping around columns• sculptural attachments to columns• notches in columns that do not impact

structural integrity• paint on columns

• unify the alignment through a large-scale spatial artwork

• use the same simple treatment on all columns

• humanize massive scale of columns• mark columns in a way that em-

phasizes shifting topography of both the ground plane and aerial guideway

Summary of Art Projects

( See “Art Project Descriptions,” pages 20-27, for complete descriptions of individual projects.)

* Budgets indicated in this report are subject to change, and represent a schedule of values for the various projects.

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Art Plan Goals and Objectives

1. Use a sequence of art with a strong site-specific conceptual framework to unify the site and create a distinct identity for the South Link Extension and 200th Street Station.

2. Create art that can be experienced from various modes of transportation: • trains • automobiles and buses• bicycles• pedestrians• airplanes.

3. Create different types of art to be experienced from various vantage points:• from trains (rapid immersive experience possibly tied to distant views)• from station platform (changing art that can be contemplated over a period of time)• from station plaza (station identifiers)• from streets adjacent to light rail corridor (gateways, beacons, and corridor identifiers)• from airplanes (large-scale Pacific Northwest identifiers).

4. Create memorable experiences for both frequent and infrequent light rail users, including:• commuters • SeaTac residents• residents from adjacent towns • Airport and support industry employees• travelers accessing the Airport.

5. Use art to strengthen pedestrian and bicycle connections with light rail transit.

6. Use art to build on the choreography of views and topography inherent to moving through the site.

7. Use art to assist in wayfinding by creating art that can be seen from a distance.

8. Define art projects of scales suitable to their environments:• large scale for vehicular corridors• smaller scale for pedestrian areas.

9. Use art to enhance and emphasize Sound Transit’s priorities for sustainable development: • on-site production of clean energy generated from solar and wind sources to power art lighting• reduction of energy consumption• use of sustainable materials

- locally-produced materials - recycled materials - native plants

• efficient storm water management - capture and demonstrate rain water

movement - filter storm water into rain gardens and

bioswales - clean and reuse storm water in architectural

and art features.

10. Integrate art into functional structures, fusing the conceptual with the functional.

11. Reflect the Pacific Northwest environment through materials, forms, and processes.

12. Create art that is dynamic and changes throughout the day, season, or year.

13. Activate art with atmospheric phenomena.

14. Create opportunities for both established and emerging artists.

Perception of Landscape through Different Modes of Transportation:

Vehicle Type User Role Landscape Role Views Speed of Motion

Light Rail passengers as spectators of the experience

detachment from landscape

panoramic distant views and close-up blurry views; fleeting images compress into cinematic sequences

continuous rapid motion

Automobile drivers and passengers direct the experience

engagement with landscape

frontal perspective views

stop-start rapid motion

Bus passengers as spectators of the experience

detachment from landscape

sideways/diagonal views

stop-start moderate motion

Bicycle cyclists direct the experience

direct engagement with landscape


fairly continuous moderate-slow motion

Pedestrian pedestrians direct the experience

direct engagement with landscape


continuous slow motion

Airplane passengers as spectators of the experience

extreme detachment from landscape

birds’-eye distant views; shift between oblique and aerial views during take-off and landing

continuous rapid motion

Art Project Types

Projects identified in the art plan fall within four typologies:

1. Gateways: • mark entry and exit into the 200th Street Station • mark transitions between commercial strip of International Boulevard and less developed areas to the west

2. Unifying Elements: • reoccur throughout alignment and station• tie together entire South Link Extension as a cohesive whole

3. Immersive Experiences: • occur at Station Platform, where people are waiting for a train• contemplative, spatial art that can be “occupied”

4. Beacons:• occur at S. 200th Street Station• at a height suitable to be viewed over buildings, from International Boulevard and S. 200th Street• art that draws people toward it

7

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

left: view of Mt. Rainier behind SeaTac/Airport Light Rail Station

right: aerial view of Seattle-Tacoma International AirportSouth Link Extension Light Rail Elements

Light Rail Alignment. The South Link Extension alignment will include: • approximately 80 concrete columns, ranging in

height between 15-55’• a concrete aerial guideway, approximately

1.6-miles long x 30’-wide• overhead contact system (OCS) poles and wires,

tracks, and railings mounted to the top of the aerial guideway.

The predominate section of the alignment will be located on the east side of 28th Avenue S., touching down in the approximate location of an existing sidewalk. Sidewalks and planting strips there will be reconfigured to accomodate the columns.

Light Rail Station. The S. 200th Street Station will run along the west side of 28th Avenue S., straddling S. 200th Street. It will be dual-track, center-loading, accommodating 4-car trains. The Station platform will be raised off the ground between 24-30’, and will be accessed primarily by stairs and an escalator.

Light Rail Station Area. While a parking lot exists on the south side of 200th Street, it is anticipated that most light rail riders will access the Station from the north side, where an 8-story parking garage will be located. A kiss-and-ride facility will be located adjacent to the bus transfer area on the north side of 200th Street. Several small retail spaces are planned along the north edge of 200th Street, as part of the new parking garage structure.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac Airport is directly north of the South Link Extension site, and is the dominant entity within the City of SeaTac. Airport facilities include terminals, maintenance hangars, fuel racks, cargo storage, and an airfield with three runways.

South Airport Entry. The Port of Seattle has future plans to redesign the South Airport Expressway, creating a new south entry into the Airport. While that project is not moving forward at this time, the current concept is to link the new Expressway with an extension of State Route 509, which currently terminates west of the Airport. The new roadway would cross the light rail alignment at the intersection of 28th Avenue S. and S. 188th Street, either by tunnel or bridge. The uncertainty about the south entry makes it difficult to plan for a major art installation at either the existing or future south entry.

Detention Center. A Federal Detention Center that opened in 1997 is located just west of the future 200th Street Station. It houses over 800 male and female inmates. The facility includes a large and unattractive concrete building that will be very visible from the light rail station. It is likely that some of the future patrons of the 200th Street Station will be visiting family members inside the Detention Center.

Puget Sound Energy Substation and Powerlines. A small substation is tucked into a vegetated lot on 28th Avenue, just north of S. 200th Street. Powerlines and large power poles extend out from the substation and down 28th Avenue S.

City of SeaTac. The South Link Extension passes through City property on 28th Avenue S. The majority of businesses located on this street service the airline industry. Several hotels on International Boulevard can be accessed from 28th Avenue. With the future light rail, it is anticipated that these current hotel “back doors” might get more foot traffic, especially near the Station.

International Boulevard. International Boulevard, a segment of State Highway 99, is the primary commercial strip that runs north-south through the City of SeaTac, one block east of the South Link Extension. Most of the businesses located on the boulevard support the Airport, and include parking, car rental, gas stations, hotels, restaurants, convenience stores, and fast food. Businesses near the intersection of International Boulevard and S. 200th Street include inexpensive restaurants, groceries, bars, and gas stations. Many of these small shops and restaurants are housed in rundown single-story buildings. One of the dominant features of the Highway 99 strip is large signage.

Site Context

Residences. With the Airport and its related service industries occupying the property north and west of the site, and the commercial strip of International Boulevard directly east of the site, the only nearby residences are along the edges of Angle Lake, located to the east of the 200th Street Station. One mile west of the future station is the highly residential town of Normandy Park. Residential pockets also occur about a mile south of the Station.

Bike Trails and Lanes. The Des Moines Bike Trail runs from the north entry of Des Moines Creek Park at S. 200th Street all the way to Puget Sound, and is a fantastic public amenity. Currently there is no bike lane on S. 200th Street, which is quite steep. However, bicyclists do use this route to connect to International Boulevard and the Highline. As part of the South Link Extension project, a new bike lane will be built on S. 200th Street in the vicinity of the Station. 28th Avenue S., the route of the South Link Extension alignment, is a wide and quiet street very amenable to biking. The location of the Station in the midst of these bicycle-friendly roadways and trails should encourage cyclists to use the light rail line.

Parks and Open Space. Several types of recreational park spaces are in the vicinity of the future 200th Street Station. Angle Lake Park is a 10-acre City of SeaTac Park concentrated on the west side of Angle Lake, and accessed off International Boulevard. Its main features are a swimming area, fishing pier, public boat launch, large conifer trees, a lawn, playground, and picnic areas. Angle Lake Park gets heavy use during the summer. While currently no

8

below: historic picture of an old-growth tree in the present location of Sea-Tac Airport

History of the Highline Landscape

The site of the South Link Extension line is on a ridge of glacial deposits called the “Highline.” It was once old-growth forest, and includes the spring-fed Angle and Bow Lakes.

Native American settlements were in lowlands to the east and west of the ridge, and land around the lakes was used for fishing and hunting. Indigenous people also cultivated that part of forest to attract deer and for their own harvest, selectively clearing the land with fire and fostering the growth of native berries. Historian David Buerge says, “This area was not a wilderness, but rather a garden that bore the imprint of human activity for thousands of years.”

The first white settlers moved to the area north of Sea-Tac Airport in 1873, and it slowly grew into the “Sunnydale” community, an agricultural outpost of Seattle. The forest was cleared to make way for family farms. By the early twentieth century Japanese immigrants comprised most of the farmers on the Highline.

Development of the Highline area has always occurred around the advent of new transportation corridors, beginning with Native American footpaths. Military Road, originally a Native American path, was the first major north-south road and built in 1860. The Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 99) was built in 1928 to connect Seattle with Tacoma, and was renamed “International Boulevard” in 1990. Interstate-5 was built in the 1960s. Sound Transit’s Link light rail line to the Airport, opening in late 2009, was the most recent transportation corridor to run through the area.

The City of SeaTac was incorporated in 1990. SeaTac comprises 10.5 square miles, including and wrapping around the Airport. It also includes residential neighborhoods and a hospitality strip that primarily serves the Airport.

Development of Sea-Tac Airport

A 1700’-long airstrip was cleared and graded near Bow Lake in late 1940. With the growth of Boeing, the Port of Seattle opened Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at the site of the Bow Lake airstrip in 1944. It had a 6100’-long runway.

The Airport Terminal and Administrative Offices opened in 1949. The original Terminal building had a wall of glass on the west side, and windows all around. The original entry to the Terminal was a formal arrangement of roads and plants. A grand tree-lined boulevard from the east formed an axis terminating at a circular drive in front of the building.

Between 1949 and 1971 additional concourses were added, and a second runway was built. The Terminal was encased inside a new structure that featured an upper driveway for departures and a lower driveway for arrivals, replacing the original boulevard. A new multi-deck Parking Garage was built, with Skybridges connecting it to the Main Terminal. An internal highway system, the “Airport Expressway” was built to link the Airport to International Boulevard and surrounding highways.

Further expansion began in the 1990s,when the Garage was expanded to three times its original size. Concourse A and Airport Administrative Offices were renovated in the early 2000s, and a new Central Terminal and third runway were completed in 2005. To make way for Sound Transit’s light rail line, which runs for a mile in the median of the Airport Expressway and connects the Tukwila Station to the Airport Station, roadways at the North Entry were reconfigured in 2008.

Angle Lake Park

Angle Lake

28th Avenue S.


plans exist, development of the parcel currently occupied by the Angle Lake Mobile Home Park, south of the existing park, may be a future opportunity to expand Angle Park, bringing it even closer to the 200th Street Station.

Des Moines Creek Park, just southwest of the 200th Street Station site, has a much quieter character. It is a 96-acre natural area with a paved trail for bicyclists and pedestrians running adjacent to a creek. Previously, the north end of the park was a residential neighborhood, but was vacated when the Airport was built. Nearly all traces of the old homes are gone. However, a fascinating labyrinth of overgrown roads, now dirt paths, winds through that section of the park and periodically an old foundation or garden planting will reveal itself. Off-street parking spaces are located at the trail head, on S. 200th Street.

Tyee Valley Golf Course is located just across the street from Des Moines Creek Park, on the north side of S. 200th Street.

left: aerial view showing Angle Lake and residences around it, intersection of S. 200th Street and International Boulevard, site of future 200th Street Station at lower right, and PSE substation and 28th Avenue S. to its left

right: original “grand boulevard” entry into Sea-Tac Airport

9

Project Constituents & Stakeholders The primary constituent for the Art Plan is the agency of Sound Transit, specifically its public art program, STart. Sound Transit allocates a portion of project construction costs to art. STart works with professional artists, design professionals, local communities, and transit partners to create artworks appropriate for each project.

Sound Transit has engaged a team of design consultants to develop the South Link Extension to a 30% design level, after which they may hire a Design/Build contractor to complete the project. The design team includes the following primary consultants:• Huitt-Zollars (lead engineers)• Perkins + Will (lead architects)

The South Link Extension right-of-way is within City of SeaTac and Port of Seattle limits. As such, the primary stakeholder is the City of SeaTac. The secondary stakeholder is the Port of Seattle/Aviation Facilities & Infrastructure.

Constituent & Stakeholder Art Guidelines Sound Transit Link Design Criteria Manual—STart (2010). Chapter 27 of the Manual outlines policies, goals, approaches, and opportunities for incorporating art into the light rail system. What follows is a highly abbreviated description of aspects of that chapter that are most relevant to the South Link Extension Art Plan.

Integrated art is a primary focus of the STart Program, and is defined from three perspectives:1. Conceptual: unique to a site2. Functional: fuses utility with the artistic vision of

a site3. Material: By bringing an innate texture of quality

to the facility, materials support the artistic concept while recognizing the vital role of durability and maintenance.

Goals for STart projects include (but are not limited to) the following: • Collaborate with staff, engineers, architects,

designers, other artists and communities to create outstanding artwork appropriate to place:

- continue meaningful and specific community involvement through design and construction- innovate, raise questions, help solve problems- provoke thought, surprise, wonder and memory- challenge assumptions, seek fresh opportunities- seek energy saving and sustainable technologies.

• Enhance uniqueness of the region and its communities:- respond to what exists, both natural and human.

• Treat travel as a rich experience:- highlight transitions, movement, rhythm, views, time- support regional connections.

• Make “sense” of the system:- support wayfinding through images & landmarks- integrate function, aesthetics, meaning and metaphor- reveal function, structure and connections.

• Create landmarks of distinction- produce artwork of appropriate scale and unique to the site- consider discrete details that will reveal themselves over time.

City of SeaTac Design Standards for High Capacity Transit Facilities (1999). The City’s Standards for Station Design include the following relevant points:• Station should be consistent with a locally

determined design theme.• Roofline should have an architectural focal point

or variation.• principal ground level exterior entry points

should include a minimum of 200 square feet of decorative paving.

Art Guidelines for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (1999). The Art Guidelines include the following relevant points:• Art should be located in “high visibility” places.• Exterior facilities and grounds represent significant

areas for artwork and lend themselves well to exploration of the Northwest Natural Environment.

• In addition to simple “placement” of artwork, “integrate” art into landscape, architecture, and wayfinding systems.

Opportunities

Early Artist Involvement to Create Integrated Art. Because the structures of the columns, aerial guideway, and station are so massive, the best way for the art program to have a real impact on the project is to integrate artwork into these functional structures. The relatively smaller scale of stand-alone art will cause it to be lost within the infrastructure. With artists getting involved early in the design process, they will have time to collaborate with project engineers and architects to have a meaningful effect on the infrastructure in terms of both concepts and aesthetics.

Design/Build Process. The South Link Extension could be the first project that Sound Transit will implement through a “design/build” process, which would begin following the initial phase of planning currently underway. Should this occur, there will be a unique opportunity for artists to work on final design of integrated artworks with the contractors who will actually be building or installing some of the elements. This is often how artists work, with specialized art fabricators, so has potential to be an excellent fit.

Alternative Energy. Sound Transit’s interest in exploring the incorporation of alternative energy into the project is a fantastic opportunity to extend art concepts.

Constraints

Sound Transit Constraints. • Treatments to concrete (especially columns) must

not inhibit seismic hazard inspections. • No electric power will be run along the alignment,

so alternative energy must be employed in these areas for any art lighting or electronic equipment.

• Limitations to art maintenance funds restricts the number of Link art projects with difficult access for cleaning, such as suspended sculptures.

Port of Seattle/Sea-Tac Airport Constraints.• There is uncertainty about the future alignment of

the Airport’s South Entry.• Strict restrictions exist on the use of standing water

and plants with large berries that could attract birds and wildlife.

• Storm water runoff from Sound Transit’s aerial guideway must be directed and discharged off of Port property.

below: north entry into Sea-Tac Airport, showing light rail line in median of Airport Expressway, with Tukwila Station in the background

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Cascade Mountains

Mt. Rainier

VIEWS TO AND FROM LIGHT RAIL

Puget Sound

Olympic Mountains

Views from light rail

Views to light rail

Light rail

Light rail station

Steep slopes

HP LP

Choreography of Topography and Views

view west from 28th Avenue S. to Olympic Mountainsview southwest from Station site to Puget Sound

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28th Avenue S. at intersection of S. 188th Street, looking south toward dip and then rise in the grade 28th Avenue S. at intersection of S. 188th Street, looking north toward dip and then rise in the grade

S. 200th Street: sequence of views approaching site of the future S. 200th Street Link Station from the east, dipping first down into Des Moine Creek drainage and then up to Highline ridge; location of Station Platform crossing over S. 200th Street marked in red

Choreography of Topography and Views

Alignment. Most people who experience art along the alignment will be in motion, as they travel through the site and past the artwork. It is important for artists to consider how different modes of transportation and shifting viewpoints will affect perception of the art and its context in these areas.

The topography along the alignment moves through several prominent shifts. Leaving the Airport, heading south on 28th Avenue S., the ground first dips to a low point near S. 188th Street. From there it then rises up, revealing spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains to the west and Cascades Mountains to the east, which will be enhanced by the elevation of the alignment. Continuing south, the alignment hits a high point near S. 196th Street, where views are best.

S. 200th Street. The topography drops off east and west of the Station, along S. 200th Street. Approaching the Station from the east, the portion of the Station that straddles 200th Street will be visible from nearly a mile away. A dip in 200th Street here recalls the dip on 28th Avenue along the alignment. The shifting views caused by the varied topography will add interest to the experience of the art.

Station. Most people who experience art at the 200th Street Station will be either moving slowly or at rest, waiting for a train. As such, the views will be more still and steady. From the Station there are fantastic views of Puget Sound and Mount Rainier, which will both appear quite close from the elevated Station platform.

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Site Features

rain garden swale in median of 28th Avenue S.

bicyclist crossing International Boulevard at S. 200th StreetPSE electrical substation north of future station, on 28th Avenue S. looking south down 28th Avenue S., rain garden in median on left and service entrance to hotels on right, future light rail line will go along sidewalk on right side of photograph

back of hotel, on 28th Avenue S.

existing Airport entrance

signage on commercial strip of International Boulevard

site of future 200th Street Station: looking south down 28th Ave. S. looking west down S. 200th Street, Detention Center on leftroadways of existing Airport entrance, over which future light rail will cross

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Context Features

aerial guideway over S.R. 518, near north entrance to Airport

Des Moines Creek Des Moines Creek Bike Trail

Angle Lake Park, with view of Cascade Mountains to the eastlarge trees at entrance to Angle Lake Mobile Home Park

aerial guideway over International Boulevard in Tukwila Tukwila Light Rail station

outlet of Des Moines Creek into Puget Sound

Tukwila Station platform

system wide “Braid” artwork, by Norie Sato, in platform paving at Tukwila Station

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Context, Features and Uses

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Multi-Modal Transportation

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Existing Art along South Link Light Rail Line

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A Drop of Sustenance and A Molecule of the Region, by Tad Savinar, in the Tukwila Light Rail Station

Shimmering Shadowlines, by Dan Corson and Norie Sato, near Tukwila Station

Emerald City (vine towers and photovoltaic clock tower), by Haddad|Drugan, at North Airport Entry

Flying Sails, by Werner Klotz and Restless, by Christian Moeller, at SeaTac/Airport Station Celestial Navigations, by Fernanda D’Agostino, at SeaTac/Airport Station Plaza Canary II, by Robert Maki, in front of Airport Terminal A

Existing Art along South Link Light Rail Line

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predominate winds from the SSWpredominate winds from the SSW

summer sun

winter sun

SUN COVERAGE (approximate)

PREDOMINATE WINDS

morning sun

evening sun

SOLAR EXPOSURE (aligned with commuter routes)

PREDOMINATE RAINS

evening commute routemorning commute route

Weather Exposure at 200th Street Station

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Conceptual Diagram of Art Projects

ART PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS

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Site:

• Columns along Alignment (approximately 80) extending from S. 200th Street Station to SeaTac/Airport Station

Budget:

• $110,000

Potential Art Elements:

• paint on columns• bands wrapping around columns• notches cast into columns

Potential Viewers:

• motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians on 28th Avenue S., S. 200th Street, and Airport entry

Artist: • Established Artist

Stakeholders:

• Sound Transit • City of SeaTac • Port of Seattle

Concepts:

• Mark columns in a way that emphasizes shifting topographic profile of both the ground plane and the aerial guideway.

• Consider using marks to draw horizontal “lines” across a swath of columns at a consistent elevation, to create a level datum off of which the shifting “Highline” topography can play.

• Explore the use of rhythm, repetition, narrative, and syncopation to build upon shifts in topography inherent to the site.

• Reference other “banding” projects in the Link light rail system, such as OCS poles in Rainier Valley and the SODO Maintenance Yard.

top: aerial guideway along SR 518

bottom: South Link Extension aerial guideway conceptual profile, showing concpt of horizontal bands

“High Line”

Unifying Element

Goals & Considerations:

• Unify the alignment with a large-scale spatial art project focused on the columns.

• Humanize massive scale of concrete columns. Each column is approximately 7.5’ x 5’ around, with height ranging from 10’ to 55’.

• Create a simple uniform treatment that can be applied to all the columns in the alignment.

• Sculptural bands wrapping around and atached to the columns are feasible, but attention to detail would be necessary in locations where columns widen.

• Notching the concrete columns is only possible if structural integrity of columns is not adversely affected.

• Painting bands around columns is feasible, but would require maintenance.

• Consider use of reflective materials that will catch afternoon sunlight from the west.

• Collaborate with project designers to develop a unique surface treatment for the columns that works with the topographical concept.

• The current standard design of vertical grooves used in other portions of the South Link line is not ideally compatible with the “High Line” topographic concept, so attention to this detail is required.

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left: Terminal 4, Barajas Airport, by Richard Rogers

right: Bangles and Safety Spires, by Dan Corson and Norie Sato

below/top: Water Mark, by Haddad|DruganColumnseum by Sheila Klein

below/bottom: Portal Park Slice by Robert Irwin

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Site:

• Select Columns along Alignment, focused on locations at:- S. 188th Street- S. 192nd Street - S. 198th Street.

• Drainpipes at Platform of 200th Street Station

Budget:

• $75,000


• sculptural storm water drainpipes on columns• sculptural storm water drainpipes at Station • rain gardens at base of drainpipes• solar-powered lights illuminating drainage

features

Potential Viewers:

• motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians on 28th Avenue S.

• light rail patrons entering 200th Street Station

Artist: • Emerging Artist

Stakeholders:

• Sound Transit • City of SeaTac


• Use sculptural elements that make visible the catchment of storm water from the aerial guideway and its subsequent flow into rain gardens with filtering plantings.

• Extend vertical drainpipes into sculptural channels in the ground plane, or a sculptural feature suspended under the guideway to carry water into rain gardens.

• Accompany drainpipes with rain gardens that evoke in their design (shape of beds, berming, plant heights, etc.) the motion of stormwater along the ground plane, exaggerating qualities of flow and infiltration.

• Consider capturing water and then distributing it in a kinetic means, possibly evoking “rain” under the guideway.

• Create art that is interesting and engaging in both wet and dry periods.

• Create art that can be experienced by people walking, biking, or driving past alignment.

• Standard columns used elsewhere in the existing South Link line are notched on two sides so that standard drainage pipes can be inset and hidden. Explore creating a functional intervention where drainage is celebrated rather than hidden.

• Because no drainage can be discharged on Port of Seattle property, water must be conveyed through a drainage conduit in the “box” of the aerial guideway and discharged at specific locations off Port property.

• Avoid making the art climbable.

Concepts:

• Create a repetitive series of artworks that reoocur throughout the Alignment and Station.

• Consider the artwork as a means of visually expressing the water content of the atmosphere, as in rain gauges, barometers, hyrdrometers.

• Make the art “high performance” during rain

top:aerial guideway along SR 518

bottom: site of South Link Extension alignment on 28th Avenue S. near S. 200th Street, with rain garden in median

“Rain Drains”

Unifying Element

Locations:

• B01: Column on the south side of S. 188th Street. This drainpipe would channel water from a long stretch of the guideway, to get it off of Port of Seattle propery, so there would be a high flow of storm water runoff here. This storm water could possibly be channeled through a pipe, then into a rain garden or a cascading ground feature.

• B10: Column on the north side of S. 192nd Street. This area would channel a low-moderate amount of water from the guideway.

• B29: Column hitting ground in the large landscape bed just south of where 28th Avenue S. splits, at S. 198th Street. This area would also channel a low-moderate amount of water from the guideway. The wide breadth of landscape area here is an art opportunity.

• Station: Drainpipes at Station Platform can convey water from the roof canopy. These elements should be in the same aesthetic

family as the larger Column drainpipes, possibly even “miniature” versions of the Column features. It is important that the Station drainage elements be streamlined so that they do not cause obstructions at the Platform. For aesthetic and economic simplicity, it is envisioned that a single drain pipe design, or variations on a single design, be used throughout the Station area.

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left: unnamed painting by Bansky

right: Japanese bamboo kinetic water fountain, called a “Shishi Odoshi” Ravens Bill Downspouts, by Miles Pepper

below/top: Shimmering Shadowlines, by Dan Corson and Norie SatoGrowing Vine Street, by Buster SimpsonThornton Creek, by Stephen GlassmanLaborers’ Offering to the Water Safe, by Buster SimpsonLineage, by Haddad|Drugan

below/bottom: River and Rain and Two Rivers, by Blue McRight and Warren WagnerGrange Insurance Audubon Center downspouts, by Design StudioLineage, by Haddad|Drugan (2 views)

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Site:

• 200th Street Station, platform crossing over S. 200th Street

Budget:

• $315,000 + construction credits for standard architectural elements


• sun-activated metal and glass windscreens• rain-activated mist/steam on platform paving• LEDs and art lights• solar cells laminated into art glass• architecturally-integrated elements• interactive pieces

Potential Viewers:

• light rail riders waiting for train• motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians on S. 200th

Street

Artist:

• Laura Haddad, Art Planner

Stakeholders:

• Sound Transit • City of SeaTac

top:approaching 200th Street Station site from the east

bottom: approaching 200th Street Station site from the west


•Create a gateway into and out of the 200th Street Station. and into and out of the SeaTac commercial core. •Collaborate with design team to integrate artwork with functional elements to create a cohesive spatial composition that results in a memorable place. •Explore the potential to link art concepts with architectural concepts. •Tie into spatial relationships of the site, including layering of light rail alignment over roadway, and views to mountains and Puget Sound. •Consider options for windscreens ranging from applying two-dimensional imagery to standard windscreens, to designing windscreens as unique three-dimensional sculptural pieces. •Use materials, colors, and images that evoke forms and colors of the natural environment. •Create art effects that are activated by atmospheric events, especially sun and rain. •Use of reflective materials may catch light in a way that makes the art more visible from a distance, on S. 200th Street. • Create an ethereal and atmospheric environment that immerses viewers in an evocation of the Pacific Northwest. •Include lighting, for changes from day to night. •Power lights and electronic media with alternative energy sources such as solar power.

Concepts:

•Explore using art to express the site’s geography (“Highline” topography), geology (glacial deposits and spring-fed lakes), views (mountain ranges and Puget Sound), cultural history with the land (agriculture), and the future possibility of a growing city uniquely located at the nexus of major air, train, and road networks. •Create a portal to be viewed from S. 200th Street and Station platform that ties to actual views of the horizon experienced from the site. •Create art effects that are activated by the transmission, reflection, and refraction of sunlight and artificial light to create a sense of transience and convey a concept of trans formation, in the sense of merging the em- pirically real with the transcendentally ideal.

•The artwork can be conceived as a dichotomous threshold, in which the same art elements evoke two varied experiences depending on the viewer’s point of view.

•A “gateway” is perceived in the east-west orientation, and occurs as one passes beneath the portal on S. 200th Street. Heading west on S. 200th Street, the art will first be viewed just east of International Boulevard. The gateway here precedes a steep descent into Des Moines Creek valley. Heading east on S. 200th Street, the art will first be viewed from a long distance away. It then goes through various points of conceal and reveal as one approaches the Station over varied and steep topography. The gateway here precedes the crossing

“Sun Arc:Layered Horizons”

Gateway,Immersive Experience

of International Boulevard and a view of the Cascade Mountains. In either east-west direction, the art will be encountered as a portal that becomes a part of the urban landscape.

•An “immersive experience” is perceived in the north-south orientation, and occurs as one is walking or standing on the Station platform, waiting for train. Here there is potential for the art to highlight an alignment of solar orientation and commuter patterns. In the morning, sunlight illuminates the east side of the platform while commuters are waiting for northbound trains on the east platform. In the evening, sunlight illuminates the west side of the platform while commuters are exiting southbound trains on the west platform. In either case the viewer merges with the environmental phenomenon of light, as well as with views of the surrounding landscape that will be gleaned from the Platform.

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left: The Sun is Always Setting Somewhere Else,by Lisa Oppenheim

right: Cactus Mirage, by Norie Sato

below/top: Photovoltaic cells laminated into art glass at Grass Valley Elementary School, by Sarah Hall and Peters StudioSunset Wall, by Haddad|DruganWindswept Air, by Norie SatoTraveling Light, by Linda Beaumont

below/bottom: Two Running Violet V Forms, by Robert IrwinMist in the Cascade MountainsYellow Fog, by Olafur EliassonSteam rising from an in-ground light fixture

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Site:

• 200th Street Station, either mounted to aerial guideway over southernmost column of alignment, or mounted to south end of platform

Budget:

• $100,000


• wind-activated sculpture mounted to tall posts• wind turbines• LEDs and lights

Potential Viewers:

• light rail riders waiting for train• pedestrians, motorists, bicyclists on

International Avenue• airplane passengers

Artist:

• EmergingorEstablished Artist

Stakeholders:

• Sound Transit


• Create a tall sculpture that can be viewed from a distance (International Boulevard and beyond), possibly even from airplanes flying over station.

• Sculpture could be designed as a “portal” beneath and through which trains can run in the future, when South Link Alignment continues south; or sculpture could be designed so it can be relocated to a future “end of the line” if necessary.

• Activate art with wind so that sculpture moves.• Generate productive energy from wind

motion through integration of turbines into the artwork.

• Include up-lighting that conveys a sense of lightness, transience, and radiance.

• The alignment does not have low-voltage power, so lighting is not easily possible without transformers and conduit. However, alternative energy systems may be explored.

• Use materials that catch or transmit sunlight from the south, possibly casting colored or flickering light onto Station platform.

Concepts:

• Use art to reveal the presence, texture, direction, speed, and general motion of wind.

• Conceive of art as futuristic, abstract, and synthetic.

• Evoke wind-powered motion in artwork as a metaphoric allusion to the motion of trains.

• Beacon should convey that as light rail continues into the future, it could be fueled by alternative energy such as wind power.

• Explore the relationship between local wind conditions and Airport operations (such as direction of planes during takeoff and landing, depending on orientation of wind).

• Looking south from the future Station Plat- form, the site of ”Wind Beam” bisects fantastic views of Mount Rainier to the east and Puget Sound to the west. Concepts for the beacon could tie to these contextual elements, as well as with the view of sky and clouds that will form a backdrop to the artwork. • Tie art to wind energy technology of the new Northwest.

top: current beginning/end of Link Light Rail line at SeaTac/Airport Station

bottom: oval shows approximate location of “Wind Beam” artwork, as viewed from International Boulevard

“Wind Beam”

Beacon

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left: Co2LED, by Jack Sanders, Robert Gay and Butch Anthony

right: vertical wind turbines, produced by TangarieWind Leaves, by Ned Kahn

below/top: Wind Wheels, by Haddad |Drugan below/bottom: Golden Gateway, by Sayed AleviVoices of Remembrance, by Valerie Otanidetail of Wind Veil, by Ned Kahn

Documents

Sound Transit South Link Extension Public Art Plan