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Ballston Station
Location:
Year:
Project Type:
Status:
Design Credits:
Image Rights:
Role:
Arlington, VA, USA
2012
Infrastructure, Installation
Completed
Twelvemetre
Twelvemetre
Project Architect
This installation was commissioned by Dominion Virginia Power as part of an ongoing public art masterplan. The project brief was to create a high-security enclosure around an electrical substation that would also diffuse its visual impact and enhance the pedestrian experience. The design introduces a field of parallel vertical elements, which establishes an organizational hierarchy to the site and reveals the contents of the substation in a systematic and deliberate way. Views into the site become limited, defined by distance, angle and perspective. Additionally the enclosure acts as a screen onto which the equipment beyond is projected, compacting the information into a 2-dimensional representation.
Behind the primary layer is a system of vertical stainless steel cables exist that, when rotated in-plane, create a moiré pattern. This layer is intended to provide an abstract reference to the viewer as to the activity of the substation at any given time. The intensity of the moiré corresponds to the amount of electricity being processed and is activated through a mechanical actuator that responds to temperature - as air temperature changes, the rotation of cables changes accordingly.
Matt's work with the commissioned artist ranged from conceptual design and prototyping through construction documentation, fabrication and installation.

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