The Plaza at Bay and Holly: Sentinel and Archimedean Seats
Commissioned by the City of Bellingham, WA. A plaza and sculpture marking the entrance to the city’s Arts District (stainless steel, dichroic glass, acrylic, LED programmable lighting, granite). 2009
Marking the entrance to the city’s Arts District, the Sentinel stands 22’ above the plaza. Together with the Archimedean Seats that are lighted at night, the sculpture defines the gathering place. Ellen also designed the custom paving that unifies the site. Conceptually relating to the neighboring cultural institutions, math, science, and art are integrated. The paving pattern was derived from a tessellation composed of polygons are combined and recombined to form a continuous pattern. The seats, composed of two or more polygons with a common vertical side, are based on Archimedean Solids as building blocks. Sentinel draws from geometry- circles, facetted forms, polygons.
The plaza design was the result of a collaboration with Nakano Associates Landscape Architects and extensive community involvement. Prior to the development of the artwork, Ellen worked with Nakano Associates on the Arts District Master Plan, Streetscape Plan and Design Guidelines.
