public art opportunity: king county wastewater treatment

King County Wastewater Treatment, Elliott West Wet Weather Treatment Station Upgrade

One artist or artist team will be commissioned to create a site-specific artwork for the east glass stairwell façade and upper facing north glass window of the upgraded Elliott West Wet Weather Treatment Station.

Opportunity

King County Wastewater Treatment Division will be making improvements to the Elliott West Wet Weather Treatment Station or EWWTS. Since 2005, EWWTS has helped keep Elliott Bay cleaner by treating stormwater and wastewater during wet weather. It removes solids and disinfects the polluted water to protect water quality in the bay. If EWWTS was not in operation, these pollutants would enter Elliott Bay in what is called a Combined Sewer Overflow or CSO. There are many CSO outfall locations throughout Seattle. Now, new rules from the Washington State Department of Ecology require upgrades at the station. These changes will help the station meet updated water quality standards and continue to protect Elliott Bay from pollution in the future. This is a major investment to ensure King County continues to protect public health and the environment for years to come.

In partnership with King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD), 4Culture is seeking one artist or artist-led team to create a site-specific artwork for the east glass façade adjacent to the Elliott West Wet Weather Treatment Station (EWWTS) interior stairwell and upper facing north glass window. Artwork will inspire and engage the broader community by reflecting on the site and its relationship to:

• Elliott Bay and the project theme identified as “Water’s Edge”: This is inspired by the shore where EWWTS is located and how it has changed dramatically over the last 130 years. It has gone from a dynamic and natural shoreline to one fully manipulated by human design and industry. 

• the Interbay and Lower Queen Anne neighborhoods and the larger community

• the surrounding landscape and its connection to Elliott Bay and the Puget Sound 

• collaborative conversations with artist Laura Haddad given her existing history with Undercurrents, an existing artwork at the Denny Way/Lake Union CSO

• and consideration of Laura Haddad’s design for the perforated metal panels on the east façade of EWWTS. There will be some overlap in both artists’ design timelines.

The selected artist or artist-led team will develop original artwork that responds to the architectural character of building, the surrounding environment, and EWWTS’s important role in supporting essential public infrastructure. The artwork will be highly visible to the community on the east side of EWWTS and transit along Elliott Ave West. The artwork should be thoughtfully integrated with the site.