A lot of my work is not very glorious. I'm reducing parking lots, reintroducing native grasses, cleaning up the water.   –Maya Lin

Lin envisioned a simple, curved viewing platform echoing the curve of the shoreline on the bay side of Cape Disappointment. A few lines of text on the front edge of the platform underline the historical and ecological significance of this spot. Underneath the platform, rock work was needed to support the fragile shoreline and new structure. Native plantings by the water’s edge are part of a catch basin, to contain polluted runoff. Varying high waterlines were determined to plan areas for marsh and wet meadow plantings.

An oyster-shell concrete pathway leads from the fish cleaning table, along a swale, to the edge of Baker Bay. The path runs alongside restored wetlands planted with common ladyfern and Henderson’s checker mallow. Short sections of the path bridge over new wet-meadow plantings of tufted hairgrass and western buttercup. The cedar viewing platform and bench curves outward to invite a look across the bay. Laser-cut into the raised metal front of the platform is a journal excerpt by a member of the Corps of Discovery. Patrick Gass had recorded his admiration of the bay on their arrival at this spot.

Maya Lin’s artistic process for Confluence Project installations included research, designing for sustainability, and collaboration. . .

A sustainable system or structure does not require continual and frequent input of resources to maintain it. A sustainable garden does not require constant watering and a lot of chemical fertilizer to survive. But what does it mean for art to be sustainable? Perhaps it doesn’t require excessive electricity to power it or light it. Often, sustainability involves decisions about materials. Instead of requiring tons of marble from Italy, perhaps the materials are available locally, or would otherwise enter the waste stream.

For the installations at Cape Disappointment, Maya Lin chose materials that are durable and adapted to their outdoor environment. Nothing needs to be painted every year, nor will anything be damaged by rain. Beyond the choice of materials and native plantings, the art installations were also designed in support of the State Parks Department’s needs. These included a better functioning and more beautiful site for visitors, a new fish-cleaning table, reinforcement of an eroding shoreline, and walkways.

Planning for sustainability within the artistic process.