Seven columns of light in a historic net shed

A temporary installation inside a historic net shed, consisting of seven three-story floor hatches inside an historic net shed were filled with monofilament fishing line stretched taut from the first floor to the underside of the roof structure, resulting in the creation of seven new ‘columns’. The installation provided the opportunity to explore the notions of compression/tension, solid/void, and structure/connection.

During the 2008 AIA Seattle Honor Awards presentation, Jurors Patricia Patkau, Nader Tehrani, and David Baker commented:

"This ambitious project is strongly located in a specific place and time, yet simultaneously entirely conceptual. Engaging history through the visceral evocation of memory, 7 repositions its context in a way that gives you immediate recall of its experience. Extracting two innate qualities of the existing environment – its post-and-beam structure and its wonderful quality of light – the work creates a new ephemeral structure that speaks to both but is neither. A great example of the integration of architecture and art, this conceptually ambitious project breathes life into the faded recent history of public art."

Project by Robert Hutchison & Sarah Biemiller
Alderbrook Station, Astoria OR
September 25th – November 1st, 2005
Photography by Don Frank, Robert Hutchison