Thoughts on Tacoma’s Prairie Line Trail

posted in: Commentary, Projects | 0

Next week I will be working in Tacoma with Robert Gay and Lucy Begg, of Thoughtbarn, on a public art master plan and demonstration project for a new trail in downtown, Tacoma, Washington. I was invited by the blog Spaceworks Tacoma (www.spaceworkstacoma.com) to comment on the project.

What elements of the Prairie Line Trail project attracted you as an urban planner? What creative possibilities did you immediately see?

The first thing that attracted me to this project actually was that I had visited this area before and saw qualities in it, and in the public art, that I wanted to capture in my work.

I came to Tacoma some years ago, as a consultant working with GSA on the courthouse at Union Station. I had a chance to walk around this area of Tacoma, and what left the strongest impression on me was the public art. First it was little things. Unique artworks that define the Theatre District. The playfully colored maritime artifacts along the Thea Foss Waterway. The way that sculpture creates a link between the material of the landscape and the material of the architecture at the Union Station courthouse and the state history museum. Then, of course, the contrast between Chihuly’s modern glass work and the historic architecture. The artwork that creates such a remarkable passage over the train tracks and the highway to the Museum of Glass – the boldness of putting this on a bridge!

What’s interesting is that each of these groups of projects defines its place in a slightly different way. Cumulatively, they set the stage for an exploration of the city, a sequence of experiences. You know when you are moving from one place to another, like through rooms in a house. And as you move about the city, you realize you are interacting with the art in different ways. Sometimes it takes you by surprise. Sometimes it makes you smile. It lets you know where you are. And every once in awhile, it just takes your breath away. Not a bad standard for this project to live up to.

This project on a historic rail line calls for the integration of public art, landscape and infrastructure. How do you assemble a creative/artistic team for such a project?

When I assemble a team I try to think about the qualities of the place where I am working as well as how I am going to address the specifics of the assignment. Fortunately, I had a good sense of what this trail corridor was like, and the interesting thing about the assignment was the desire to create an artwork as part of the planning process, with a small budget and little time. I wanted to work with Thoughtbarn because they are facile with materials, fabrication and installation, and because we had worked on a corridor project before. I thought they could do work that would respond to the materiality of the place as well as its scale, and had the capability to conceive and build a project within the time and money constraints.

Is there a public art strategy you have when you come into a community with a proposal? How do you argue the importance of artworks in a project like a bike/pedestrian trail?

In this case we didn’t have a public art strategy in mind when we made our proposal. But we did suggest that there will be three things that will be very important to the success of this plan: it must be grounded in an understanding of the context of the place, it must embrace your aspirations for the trail, and it must point out a clear path to getting projects done. Usually what I find is that people are most passionate about making great places, places they can connect with, and if I can show them how public art can help accomplish that, they are very supportive.

The Prairie Line Trail will traverse some of Tacoma’s most interesting niches: the brewery district, University of Washington, the museum corridor and the waterfront…Have you developed a concept for how to link these?

We haven’t developed a concept yet but expect that we will develop some ideas after we spend a few days in Tacoma next week.

Please explain how the work is divided between you and Thoughtbarn? (To put it roughly) do you create the master plan and they create the artworks?

I’m an urban designer who specializes in public art and cultural planning, and Robert and Lucy are collaborating architects and artists. We met through a mutual friend, the public art director of Arlington County, Va., and have collaborated on design proposals before. Robert, Lucy and I expect to collaborate fully on developing the basic ideas behind the plan and the demonstration project. I will be the lead in completing the plan. Robert and Lucy will be the lead in completing the art project.

Please describe a couple of your favorite projects that integrate art with landscaping and/or architecture.

Lorna Jordan’s work at the Renton wastewater treatment plant is a classic project where the landscape is living, working infrastructure. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about time-based artworks in urban space, as well, and think the site specific exhibitions that are commissioned a few times year at Madison Square Park in New York are at the top of their game. The works by Stephen Vitello and Spencer Finch along the High Line in New York are extraordinary, and integrated, but were directed by the artists’ own exploration of the space, not a program dictated by the trail designers or planners. These are all interesting approaches to consider along parts of the Prairie Line Trail.