Animating the banal:

A seemingly banal lift station is transformed into a beautiful architectural detail through the addition of a water-jet-cut steel cornice. Rather than make the lift station simply recede further from view, the station broadcasts his valued use to its community.

The cornice is comprised of patterns derived from water, as well as imagery comparing desert and water-based flora, that will cast shadows along the walls throughout the day. These constantly changing shapes will change hour to hour, day to day, to create an ever-changing artistic display. At night, eight LED lights cast patterns on the slump walls in the dark.

(Photography by Bill Timmerman.)