Ann Arbor makes plans for waterscape public art project

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 | Source: Concentrate

Leave it to Ann Arbor to find a way to fuse two of the community's favorite pet causes - sustainability and public art.

Local officials are putting the finishing touches on the main piece of public art for the City Hall expansion, which also looks to play a significant part in the building's sustainability. The work of art, a key piece of the project's LEED application, is a rain garden designed by Herbert Dreiseitl, who was commissioned by the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission.

Dreiseitl is a world renowned artist and urban planner who specializes in integrating drab things like storm water into sexy subjects such as public art. His rain garden for the City Hall expansion will be the most visible piece of art in the project.

The rain garden will also go a long ways toward satisfying Ann Arbor's new "Percent for Art" ordinance for new public buildings. The ordinance calls for projects to dedicate 1 percent of the project's budget for public art. Similar policies have been used for decades in other cities, such as New York and Portland.

In December, AAPAC Chair, Margaret Parker, presented the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission’s (AAPAC) 2009 Annual Public Art Plan to City Council. One of AAPAC’s 2009 priorities includes the installation of interior and exterior artwork at the Ann Arbor Municipal Center.

Source: Margaret Parker, chair of the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission
Writer: Jon Zemke