The King County News Blog reports that the sculpture and landscaping that surrounds the West Point Treatment Plant in Discovery Park has earned a place in the National Art Collection of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.
(photo courtesy of King County)
West Point’s art and landscaping was installed in the 1990s as a mitigation measure for the plant’s federally-mandated upgrade to more stringent secondary treatment standards.
Prior to the upgrade, the plant that treats about 133 million gallons of sewage each day, was a blight on Discovery Park’s prime beachfront. Now it is screened by 7,000 feet of sculptured concrete walls and walking paths.
The Smithsonian describes the project this way: Over 7,000 feet of sinuous sculpted walls screen the sewage treatment plant for the visitors of Discovery Park. The multi-level wall defines the industrial structures imagery, the park walkways, the wetlands and the pedestrian bridge.
