Still Spinning
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Rebuilt and reopened to meet the dynamic needs of our growing region, the Factoria Recycling & Transfer Station in Bellevue, Washington, features public art by Phoenix-based sculptor Al Price.
Still Spinning sets an expansive concrete wall into suggested motion. 435 stainless-steel, spoked wheels catch and reflect the ever-changing light of our Pacific Northwest weather. The wheels – all made of recycled material and arranged across the otherwise mundane surface of a 4,200-square-foot retaining wall – glint, sparkle, and cast shadows, offering a new show to each driver that enters the station.
Projected to achieve LEED Gold status, the Factoria Recycling and Transfer Station surpasses national sustainability standards. For example, it will use 35 percent less energy than its former building by making daylight its primary light source. Still Spinning spotlights and animates this same source. The station will save 1.3 million gallons of water each year through rainwater harvesting. The circular forms and sweeping arcs that comprise Still Spinning speak to cycles of nature, such as the water cycle, and those human-made, including cycles of reuse and bicycling.
Inspired by the large number of cyclists in King County, the impressive quality of their machines, and the unique community and culture they create, Price’s artwork points to the meeting of sophisticated technology and ecologically sound pursuit – in cycling, solid waste management, and art-making. His hard-earned, polished, and meticulously arranged wheels – sourced from American companies that produce steel with closed-loop systems for recycling water and waste – evoke the energy and speed of a velodrome and the movement of people and materials through the station.
A sculptor fascinated by motion, Al Price began his career creating interior kinetic works. With Still Spinning and his public art practice more broadly, he invites the viewer’s motion and shifting perspective to activate his compositions.
PROJECT LOCATION
PROJECT TEAM
King County Solid Waste Division
American Stainless Tubing, Inc
Phoenix Metal Finishing & Polishing
Marzee & CMA
Phoenix Heat Treating