Client: City of Reno

Overview

Tracing the history of the project site, I was interested to discover that it had once been home to Reno Mill and Lumber (later the Verdi Lumber Company then the Eveleth Lumber Company), a planing mill and sash factory with yards that accommodated several thousand acres of pine cut from the nearby Tahoe basin. I began to consider not only the sheer volume of timber that had passed through the site but also the mechanical process of changing these beautiful organic forms into geometrically shaped and regularly dimensioned materials that could readily be used for building and construction. Playing off this history, I imagined branches of rebar emanating from the bridge as if growing out from its very structure. Flourishing independently but still integral to the form, they appear as fantastical visions – as if history has emerged from the past – reimagined and reinterpreted through the many different lenses of time.

Goals

Beginning as a country road adjacent to the Central Pacific Railroad, 4th Street has a history steeped in an industrial vocabulary, playing host to a wide variety of manufacturing and material processing facilities that took advantage of their proximity to the adjacent Central Pacific Railroad and later interstate highway US 40. These businesses have served both local and regional clients and over time have included glass, textile, metal, livestock, and spirits, many of which can still be found there today. At the same time, the activity of “making” and the culture of “makers” is very much present in the area, and it was clear that this narrative needed to be reflected in the artwork which also functions as a gateway to this redeveloping district.

Process

The installation consists of two sets of six sculptural tree branches surrounding the northwest and southeast bridge support columns. Constructed of welded #5 rebar (5/8” nominal diameter), each branch ranges in size from 16 feet to 20 feet, creating an overall canopy size of approximately 45 feet in diameter. With the assistance of the City of Reno, all attachment locations were scanned with Ground Penetrating Radar and embeds were installed directly to the bridge. This allowed the unique opportunity to create a sculptural artwork that is physically integrated with the structure of the underpass. Each branch is attached at the base of the column and is then suspended by 3/8” wire rope from the bottom of the bridge as they extend away. The artwork is illuminated by LED Flood Lights directed up to cast shadows on the undersurfaces of the bridge.