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Undercurrents

Haddad|Drugan

Denny Way/Lake Union CSO

A plaza’s etched swale and graphic panels tell the story of stormwater flowing underground.

Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan. Undercurrents, 2004/2010. Landscaping, concrete, steel, stainless steel, and paint. Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: joefreemanjunior.com

King County’s Denny Way/Lake Union CSO improves the water quality of Lake Union and Elliott Bay by significantly reducing the volume of untreated stormwater and wastewater that flows into them during heavy rains. The project diverts the water through a series of pipes and tunnels beneath Seattle’s Mercer Street and Myrtle Edwards Park.

Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan’s Undercurrents was created in two phases, 13 years apart. Initially they designed a plaza to mark the location where the outfall pipes discharge treated stormwater into Elliott Bay—a site with a beautiful view, used for community gatherings and small performances during festivals. The plaza is oriented around a stainless steel swale that carries rainwater to the bay. Wave-activated sound pipes are built into the riprap. The swale itself is etched with text that illustrates the poetry of the filtration process that occurs in the underground pipes and via the natural springs that once flowed out of nearby Queen Anne hill. An excerpt reads:

Water washing
the dust of the city
underground
sheds on mechanical shores
dissolved memories
sung like eddies of lived out lives.

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Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan. Undercurrents, 2004/2010. Landscaping, concrete, steel, stainless steel, and paint. Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: joefreemanjunior.com
Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan. Undercurrents, 2004/2010. Landscaping, concrete, steel, stainless steel, and paint. Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: joefreemanjunior.com
Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan. Undercurrents, 2004/2010. Landscaping, concrete, steel, stainless steel, and paint. Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA. King County Public Art Collection. Photo: joefreemanjunior.com