Work in progress for Stacy Levy and the Alameda Creek Watershed Center
Description: Environmental artist Stacy Levy is creating two maps for the Alameda Creek Watershed Center in Sunol, California. Both maps will be sandblasted into 1’ x 1’ Pennsylvania bluestone tiles, and used as terraces at the Center. When it rains, the water will fill the 1/4” deep runnels and basins as with the real-world features. The map that I designed is ~170 square feet.
Challenge: This map needed to represent both historical and contemporary hydrographic data for the same location, and within the limits of representation afforded by sandblasted stone that the public will be walking or using mobility devices across; i.e. every feature would be sandblasted to the same depth and use the same texture, precluding any possibility of using visual variables to distinguish between datasets.
Solution: I divided the map in half– a simple method, but much care needed to be taken in choosing a dividing point so that each dataset is represented as fully as possible, but the full map remains legible as a single contiguous area.
Published: Estimated early 2024
Data sources: San Francisco Estuary Institute; USGS; Alameda Creek Watershed Center
Tools: QGIS; Adobe Illustrator
Media: Pennsylvania bluestone; rainwater