Internationally renowned artist Christian Moeller’s “Verdi,” which is composed of more than 3,500 repurposed green glass water bottles, was unveiled today at the Brightwater Influent Pump Station in Bothell.
Workers completed the installation of the 65-foot-tall glass tower art sculpture at the Bothell Business Park’s entrance at the intersection of Northeast 195th Street and North Creek Parkway. Its dual purpose: to attractively ensconce the pump station’s 80-foot-tall odor control stack while educating people about the environmental mission of King County’s clean-water utility, according to a King County, Wastewater Treatment Division, news release.
“I am extremely pleased that the work of an artist with the reputation of Christian Moeller will be prominently featured at the Brightwater facility in Bothell,” Mayor Mark Lamb told the Reporter. “Moeller believes his piece should inspire reflection on making clean drinking water available to all, a cause that is extremely close to my heart. This sculpture will be an asset to the Bothell community for years to come.”
Moeller’s design and use of recycled materials connects the artwork to the pump station’s function of moving enormous amounts water through a treatment system so it can be reused or returned to the environment.
In designing “Verdi,” Moeller drew inspiration from the community water towers that are often a small town’s most prominent feature, as well as a source of civic identity and pride. During daylight hours, the glass will reflect and refract sunlight. The sculpture will be illuminated at night once the tower’s lighting system is installed later this month.
“The striking design of the art tower and the Brightwater Pump Station’s attractive architecture further enhance the high quality image that is the trademark of the Bothell Business Park,” said Anne Heartsong of AEA Accounting and Management Services and property manager for the Bothell Business Park Owners Association in the news release.
King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division, working in partnership with 4Culture, the county’s cultural services agency, commissioned the piece under the guidelines of the 1% for Art Program, which utilized 1 percent of Brightwater’s applicable project costs, a total of $4.4 million, for art projects which were carefully integrated into Brightwater facilities and designed to educate people about the utility’s clean-water mission.
For additional information on Brightwater’s art and educational amenities, visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/brightwater-center.aspx
