Client: Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs

Overview

A steel pergola designed to sway overhead in response to footfalls from pedestrians below – creating a wave that travels before and behind them as they traverse the 101 freeway. This physical response from the city infrastructure signals to pedestrians that their actions have impact even in this automobile-centric city.

Once in motion, this sculpture is a dragon twin of the Los Angeles Street sculptural pergola, referring to the Plumed Serpent (Quetzalcoatl); a tribute to the nearby historic El Pueblo, the birthplace of Los Angeles.

Goals

One of two 100' x 15' x 20' pergolas commissioned to activate the overpasses above the 101 freeway in downtown, welcoming pedestrians to cross over between the historic downtown core and the cultural districts of El Pueblo and Chinatown.