With the shelves stocked inside the new QFC on 24th Ave NW, final touches are being put on the outside.
We met up with Seattle artists Anna Sher of Boulevard Park and Rodman Gilder Miller of Fremont who, for the last year, have been designing and creating the art for the outside of the building. “We talked to the architect and they gave us an idea of what they were looking for,” Sher tells us, “They were talking about Danish design or Scandinavian design.”
With Sher’s metal work and Miller’s glass work, they created this 80-foot railing. “I was told ‘do something with the water,'” Miller tells us, so he created a glass rain catchment that will be installed in the middle of the railing. “I’m happy with it,” Anna says, “When you build it piece by piece, it’s really hard to get a sense of what its overall impact is going to be.”
Photo of artists Ten Ridlon, Anna Sher and Rodman Gilder Miller
Security Properties, the developer, has been very generous with their art budget, the two tell us, but they’ve been generous in other ways, too. “I feel like they’ve been generous to give the artists license to do what they want to do without a lot of constrictions,” Sher smiles. Along with this railing, the two are also creating a 24 foot by 15 foot screen with, great big leaves, flowers and glass for the south side of the building.
The two artists have worked together in the past on projects in Fremont and San Francisco. On the building in Fremont (shown above) Anna created the railings outside of Peet’s Coffee and Miller, along with metal artist Mark Stevens created other art on the building.
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Pretty! We are planning for a metal gate at driveway and this is great inspiration!
Nice to see a developer willing to invest in art. Kudos also to Trammell Crow Residential for the open space and art next to Leva at 17th and 54th.
when does the qfc open???
I'm glad they're putting some kind of art in there, but I really dislike their choice. I hated the stuff they did in Fremont and this isn't any better.
this is a bit better than the fremont building.
although the design pattern looks very similar for that project.
did that developer also request a “Danish” or “Scandanavian” design?
Great news! One step against Ballard's boring beige!!!! Keep it coming.
Very very nice!
That building in Fremont gives me a facial twitch, but the QFC artwork is neat and interesting. Good job! :-)
Looking good! I am not a big fan of the Fremont work listed, but this looks ok so far.
Who else will be camping in line the night before the grand opening? (whenever that may be)
Who else will be camping in line the night before the grand opening? (whenever that may be)
maybe the 1,500 or so homeless people in ballard?
Now shopping cart lady will have another place to get carts….Actually I am excited for this place to open.
Pretty! It looks like the railing around the Cafe Fiore at 85th and 32nd.
And this morning they were putting the chrome/glass on the portico.
Makes it look less like a mistake or an “oops! the ceiling fell in”.
The second I saw that first photo above, I thought 'Fremont'. I like this railing as a standalone piece, but it does make me feel like it's been done before, and close by.
I haven't decided if I think that's a good thing or a bad thing yet.
The railings are not bad – that awning, though, is TERRIBLE. It looks like it's caving in on itself.
Wendy, we ordered custom metal gates at Home & Garden Art on 85th St. (just east of 15th Ave.) We are so pleased with how they turned out. If you haven't already picked out what you want, I suggest you talk to James there about what he can build for you.
aiming for Jan 16th to open I believe
For a while I did a double-take every time went by because it looks like it's collapsing. I wonder though, if they are going to cover it, if there's going to be a huge waterfall where the lower edges meet whenever it rains.
Wait until the first time it has snow on it, and half the neighborhood thinks it caved in, never having noticed the slant before …
It says she did the railings outside of Peet's. Peet's is the coral colored building in front of the monster. So I don't think she worked on the other hideous building but I could be wrong.
It looks very watery and kelpy – perfect for Ballard! I like it!
Feb. 14th is the date of the grand opening
It has a really nice beat and I can dance to it. I'd give it a 9. Home Depot had a nice sale on railings here not too long ago too!
i hope the vandals can hold off for at least a week. open, open, open….
Ok the railings are nice but that ugly big stuff on the outside of the fremont building is #2 on the crap list of fremont “public” art. Just because it's big and metal doesn't make it worthwhile.
I do applaud the effort tho..
Who is going to pay for all the busted-up pavement around the site?
The streets have been PULVERIZED by the heavy equipment that put up this bland and boring cement pile.
My guess is there has to be some sort of internal downspout built in but I haven't walked over there to take a close enough look. Still though – a strange design, and by the size of the beams holding it up, looks like a very inefficient one too.
So funny! Mrs Ernie pointed over there when we were at Java Bean a few weeks ago and exclaimed ” they f'd up that beam!” I looked and said ” yeah, looks like they dropped it on that dumpster…. “
little did we know that was how it is supposed to be.
“With the shelves stocked inside the new QFC on 24th Ave NW, final touches are being put on the outside.”
Oh, I don't think those are the “final touches.”
The final touches will be the tags that will appear soon enough. I hope they have a plan to deal with that constantly.
From what I've heard, plans are for the QFC to open this coming Wednesday, 1/13.
Regarding the art, I appreciate having something designed, even if the metalwork railings look a little 'been there, done that' for Seattle. I actually think the wooden beam awning is terrific – It's modern, unexpected, and has more distinct nautical/Scandinavian design references than any other aspect of the building. I think it nicely echoes some of the same boat-inspired touches found in the Ballard Library.
I'd love to see a movement in Ballard to infuse major building projects in the future with a mission to incorporate some level of Scandinavian design and/or historical Ballard architectural motifs.
I think it's a little premature to judge this installation. The work they did in Fremont on the railing around Peet's Coffee is quite nice, but I'm less a fan of the building that they started with in that case. Without the giant metal vines on the side of that building it would be a massive imposing box. Their sculpture on the side of the building does exactly what it was supposed to…soften the impact and try to blend an otherwise imposing box into a more eclectic neighborhood.
“They were talking about Danish design or Scandinavian design.”
Funny, I thought Denmark was part of Scandinavia?
I heard January 13th.
I heard it was January 13th from the store manager. They were already stocking their shelves on the 4th of this month.
Those are some really cool railings
Very interesting to read and learn about. Perhaps the QFC store could post a copy of this article so people who shop there can learn about this fantastic public art piece.