|
Arbors and Ghost Trees
Permanent Installation |
|---|
|
|---|
 |
| Corner with Ghost Trees |
|
| Location: |
Baseline Road, Phoenix AZ, Completed Summer 2005 |
| Client: | City of Phoenix, Office of Art and Culture |
| Size: | 13 locations along 4 mile section of road, each location 120 x 30 ft. |
| Materials: | steel, fiberglass, concrete with steel inserts, seats, wind chimes, flowering vines |
| Budget: | $286,000 artist made, $1,100.000 artist designed contractor made elements |
| Landscape Architect: | Christy TenEyck,TenEyck LA Phoenix |
|
This project is the first phase of the Multi-Use Trail System in a part of the city that is rapidly being transformed from an agricultural area of citrus groves and flower farms into residential communities. The project provides substantial areas of shade in Arbors and Bus Shelters at all the major corners along Baseline Road.
|
Orange Bus Shelter and Arbor
|
Original Greenhouse
|
Arbor and Bus Shelter
with Bougainvillea Growing | The forms of the Arbors and Shelters are derived from the Greenhouses that were a major part of the Japanese flower farms. |
| The Ghost Trees grouped in a grid at the main street corners are memories of the citrus orchards that died once the water was turned off but remained standing in their orderly grids. The piece is not a sentimental memorial but a marker of the major change that is taking place. |
Ghost Citrus Trees |
Small Red Shelter with South Mountain
Detail with Bougainvillea |
The artists’ part of the project was joined to the much larger undertaking of the reconstruction of 4 miles of Baseline Road, a major arterial. In this process we worked as a design team with the engineers for the Street Transportation Department, supported by TenEyck Landscape Architects. Besides the corners and the Arbor Shelters we generated a concept for the whole 4 miles of landscaping in the wide right of way along the road: the trees are arranged in a bold diagonal grid on both sides of the road and the ground cover is planted in large, bold blocks of color.
|
| The Arbors will soon be covered with a tunnel of flowering bougainvillea vine providing deep shade in the desert sun. The Ghost Trees will have cats claw vines growing on them with yellow flowers, bringing the ghosts back to life. |
Green Bus Shelter |
Detail of Orange Shelter | 
Detail of Orange Shelter |
Detail of Blue Shelter | The fiberglass roof panels of the shelters are translucent in 4 bright colors and contain inserts depicting fruit, flowers and leaves.
|
| The benches are extra strong custom fabricated steel with logos of the South Mountain Community and cast tractor seats. Steel inserts appear to be plowing and raking the walkways. Specially designed light fixtures reflect solar powered LED lighting into the roof panels to create an indirect glow. |
Tractor Seats in Shelter |
Photos by |   |
|
|
