PHOTOS: MIKE GRAFF
Landmark artwork was incorporated into the site de-
sign as part of the city of Sacramento’s Art in Public Places
program, in coordination with the Sacramento Metropoli-
tan Arts Commission. The APP program specifies that 2
percent of eligible Sacramento City and County capital
improvement project budgets be set aside for the commis-
sion, purchase and installation of artworks. The HLA Group
reviewed art submissions for pieces that would blend with
sought before HLA arrived at its final plan, a single design
the overall design and recommended the siting locations.
aesthetic that blended landscape and art for each of the sta-
Center Station, above left, incorporates three freestand-
tions.
ing monarch butterf lies mounted on steel supports on
The project’s low-impact design principles include
the edge of the station’s shade structure. The artwork was
plantings that add greenery and pops of color, while also created by Bay Area artist Joyce Hsu, who titled the work
minimizing stormwater runoff and creating a safe physical “Migration,” based on the movement and migration of the
barrier between the parking lots and light-rail tracks. “With
monarchs through the Sacramento region. A 24-foot by 20-
these types of projects, there’s obviously an opportunity to
foot steel archway by renowned American sculptor David
blend the project into the urban fabric and the community Best serves as an architectural gateway to Franklin Station,
that is within, and then we look to create a timeless sort of above. The piece weighs approximately 11,000 pounds. The
design application and appearance because these are fairly Center and Franklin station projects were completed in the
long-lasting and permanent types of facilities,” says HLA spring of 2016. The partially-built third station, Morrison
principal Greg Hauser.
Creek, is expected to come online in the next two years.
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