Client: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)

Overview

The artist team FreelandBuck’s (David Freeland and Brennan Buck) site-specific artwork “Tunnel Vision” was created for the lobby of WMATA’s new office building in Alexandria, Virginia.

Made of printed aluminum and LED lighting, the deep canopy is suspended from the ceiling and derives its imagery from Metro’s iconic underground stations. A layered cone 10 feet high and 14 feet in diameter suspended 10 feet above the floor, the artwork is both an iconic object and an immersive environment, evoking both the identity and experience of riding the metro system and the technical and organizational accomplishment of WMATA and its employees.

Positioned in the southwest corner of the publicly accessible lobby, the installation is visible from all sides: the street and entry vestibule to the south, plaza to the west, lobby interior to the east and finally from the floor and seating below. From each of these viewpoints, the artwork alludes to the Metrorail stations in dramatically different ways: from the side as a convex object that loosely evokes the coffered stations and Metro’s gridded logo, and from below as a concave volume making the station clearly visible and emphasizing its dramatic one-point perspective.

Goals

WMATA’s Art in Transit program released a call to artists in 2020 seeking an artist/artist team to create a unique, memorable, and engaging site-specific public artwork for its new office building located in Alexandria, Virginia. The light-filled, double-height space building lobby, which was designed to feel welcoming, open, and accessible, was identified as a location for the artwork in order to create the best experience for WMATA employees, visitors, and members of the public.

The goals were for the artwork to be aesthetically attractive, reflect the artistic, cultural and/or historical interests of the surrounding communities, and capture WMATA’s mission. In selecting the artwork, consideration was given to the artist’s ability to capture the unique configuration of the building which, for the first time, brings together many control center operations into a collaborative command of the transit operations. Additionally, the artist/artist team was to demonstrate a creative use of materials, massing, scale, form, texture, and detailing. The artwork was expected to be innovative as well as durable and impart a sense of pride within the local community as well as provide a stimulating and attractive environment for the people who experience the artworks daily.

Process

The Artist Selection Panel led by the Art in Transit program was comprised of representatives from the City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts, Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners (JLREP), and Gensler.

Along with the requirement of capturing the essence of a transit agency, the panel ensured that the selected artwork presented strong artistic and aesthetic qualities that properly fit within the architectural parameters of the building while capturing the building and the artwork’s contribution to the beautification of the City of Alexandria through design, dedication to improve spaces, and access to public art.

This project’s implementation was the result of WMATA and the Developer’s decision to commission public art as a component of the site development approval per the City of Alexandria’s Public Art policy. Throughout the project, WMATA, the developer collaborated to ensure the artwork both met the Art in Transit program’s guidelines and followed the standards of the City’s Public Art Implementation Plan by ensuring the artwork development was integrated into the overall project timeline and that it was publicly accessible.

This project was funded by WMATA as part of a capital project for the new Metro Building at Eisenhower and was managed in collaboration with JLREP.