1

Artscaping the Bikeway

Project Description: A bikeway with an art decorated 5

foot one way bike lane and a 3 foot buffer to separate the
roadway will be installed. Nice Ride bikes will be on hand
to allow all users to experience the protected bikeway.
Informational signs will be posted to explain the project
and how it could be relevant to other areas of the
community.
Uniqueness: Artscaping the Bikeway will be the first ever
protected bikeway in Rochester and demonstrated in
Southeastern Minnesota. While the engineering design
will be similar to other examples, the artscaping will make
this unique.

Sit next to me, Sue!

Project Description: Sit next to me, Sue explores the

potential of public seating to become a more active and
adaptable element of our ever-changing urban
landscapes. Wheeled stools strung along a line promote
both privacy and comradery by providing a variety of
seating arrangements for the individual, couple or small
group. Lighting is installed on each seat to encourage
evening and nighttime use.
Uniqueness: This installation engages all ages through
playful activity, creative space making, and an opportunity
to build relationships within the community. The shifting
nature of the installation is experienced differently every
time an individual engages it, which promotes repeated
visits.

Batitat for Urbanity

Project Description: Batitat for Urbanity proposes to take

nature and integrate it into the fabric of the city. A place
too often neglected as a system that can support nature.
The bat houses have been designed to celebrate both bats
and design. Intentionally chosen shapes, colors and
arrangements will either blend in or stand proud as a
design or aesthetic piece.
Uniqueness: The essential structure of bat houses found
on batcon.org, will ensure durability. The structures will
then be enhanced aesthetically. Where else can you find
interesting animal habitats in our downtown area?

Unspoken

Project Description: Unspoken explores the many

connections we have with each other, our world, and
ourselves. This large, globe like structure is made from
up-cycled bicycle wheels with a single empty wheel for
entry into the globe. A single bicycle sits in the middle of
the structure and when someone peddles on the bike the
wheels that make up the globe begin to spin, shimmering
their color across the surrounding area.
Uniqueness: This project recognized how we can give
new life and meaning to that which has been discarded.
Rediscovering the familiar old bicycle parts in a new
context will allow passerby to explore their connections
to the world, the Rochester community and their own
health.

Rocker Talker

Project Description: Rocker Talker is an installation to get

people to stop, sit back and relax. Unlike a traditional
rocking chair, this installation allows large groups to rock
on the same platform. Whether a group of friends, family
members or complete strangers, Rocker Talker is sure to
be a conversation starter in Rochester.
Uniqueness: Rocking chairs are culturally significant and
each one of us has memories or associations tied to
them, however weve never seen one reimagined and
scaled up to engage more than one or two people. This
piece will be utilized and a conversation starter for the
community.

Creative Crosswalks

Project Description: Creative Crosswalks is intending to

pilot a Creative Crosswalk across 1st Avenue to help
bring art to a barren space and emphasize safe crosswalk
space for one of the most heavily used pedestrian areas in
downtown Rochester. An artist will develop a design that
fits within the historic downtown area and neighbors from
the 45 neighborhood associations in Rochester will be
invited to help fill in the outlined crosswalk.
Uniqueness: While Rochester has been working to create
a more walkable community, adding art and creativity to
the streetscape has yet to be tried. This project is unique
because it will offer the opportunity for residents across
Rochester to be involved and has the ability to spur
additional creative crosswalks across the city.

KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Project Description: Kids on the Block is a prototype of an

urban park based on the themes of food, art and play
which spotlights nature as a dominant feature of what
makes a livable city. Transportable planters will be painted
and decorated by children and used to grow food.
Repurposed museum exhibit pieces will encourage
children to build their own play area. Programing
reflecting on Rochesters diversity will also play a role in
this prototype.
Uniqueness: The role of Kids on the Block is to facilitate,
and through this process to teach healthy living habits,
including healthy eating, preserving nature, staying active
and being community participates. This project engages
children not just to participate but to lead their
community in changing and creating their environment
and city.

Multilingual Pedestrian
Signage

Project Description: Multilingual Pedestrian Signage will

serve as a wayfinding measure that stimulates
connectivity between the DMC sub-districts while
perceptibly promoting diversity and inclusion. The signage
will increase walkability by serving as a sustainable
marker featuring distance data and navigation points
between the sub-districts. Target language will be specific
to each sub-district.
Uniqueness: The project mission is to advocate for a
collaborative, healthy and vibrant world by establishing
stronger links between Rochester, its citizens and visitors.
Most affluent cities with millions of inhabitants and
visitors fail to leverage the existing opportunity that
multilingual signage provides.

Light Rail

Project Description: Affixed beneath one of Rochesters

skyways, the Light Rail will reflect the changing health of
the city as the installations colors transition to signify
health events happing within the walls of the citys health
care institutions. A childbirth. A successful heart
transplant. A final radiation treatment. At Place Makers,
rails of light will blur the lines between art and collective
experience.
Uniqueness: Unlike any existing structure in the cityscape,
this installation will ask if a citys architecture, coupled
with new artist vision, can offer innovative ways to deliver
health. The Light Rail will be an intersection for the static
nature of information and the seemingly impossible but
necessary tasks of art: to be arresting, rare, difficult, and
alive.

10

Survival Elements of Art

Project Description: A small footprint, art decorated kiosk

either stand-up or hanging in the proposed downtown
area would serve the purpose of adding color, technology
and artwork to otherwise bland streetscapes while
serving an important need during harsh winter months. A
heat lamp, emergency blankets, and self-heating meals
will be stocked in the kiosk.
Uniqueness: This project is unique in the way art is
incorporated into the operation and design of the kiosk.
You donate items or money and the kiosk offers free
services, information and subsidized emergency weather
aids. The technology and design elements will be together
in one unit.

11

Getaway

Project Description: Getaway is a site-specific,

participatory artwork that invites the public to meditate
on place through the creation and display of hand-written
memory maps. This project invites the community to use
these ubiquitous images as a jumping off point to
consider physical and psychical retreats and to describe
those spaces in writing. Getaway will explore how people
are able to evoke space through language.
Uniqueness: This project acts to collect community
narratives filtered through the lenses of space and place,
while allowing for imaginative renderings and speculative
futures. Something that currently does not exist for the
city of Rochester.

12

ShapeShifter

Project Description: ShapeShifter is a DIY community

sculpture that promotes physical activity and social
interactions. ShapeShifter encourages residents and
visitors to discuss the building of our city as they build a
sculpture together.
Uniqueness: ShapeShifter does not have a prescribed
form, size structure or meaning. Each time ShapeShifter
is taken apart and rebuilt, it will look different, creating a
unique representation of its builders perspective.

13

Inner Ear ECHO

Project Description: Inner Ear ECHO is a functional piece

of public installation art that will draw individuals into
new relationships with others, creating curiosity and
wonder as it receives voices, translates works and
amplifies our common humanity. A person speaks one of
several predefined words and phrases into the ear and
listens as they are translated into other languages
common to Rochester and the region.
Uniqueness: In moments of silence, our hearts all sound
the same. Inner Ear ECHO is unique because it reminds us
of our commonality. It allows us to hear one another
and to understand.

14

Bike Corral

Project Description: Instead of hiding bike parking off the

street, bike corral promotes cycling by making bike
commuting a reclamation statement. The corral is an
attractive bike parking, that shows just how many bikes
can fit into one or two parking spaces.
Uniqueness: While maybe not unique to the world, bike
corrals will be very unique to Rochester.

15

Chime In

Project Description: This series of pipes or chimes will

play different notes when hit. The chimes will each be
painted a different color making the color of the
rainbow. The chimes will be places far enough apart,
where it takes more than one person to play a song. This
will encourage collaboration and interaction.
Uniqueness: Chime In is great as a static piece of art, but
it really comes to life when people engage it, playing with
sound and creating music. The installation engages people
emotionally, physically, socially and mentally. It also has
the opportunity to engage with a crowd because music is
being created.

16

The Town Cube

Project Description: The Town Cube will use a set of small

boxes to project onto. Together the projections (pixels)
will show statistics, facts, questions directed at
community members, or slogans meant to inspire civic
pride and commitment to social justice and inclusion in
our community. The boxes will rotate so these
projections will be continually changing.
Uniqueness: The Town Cube is unique as it addresses
diversity, inclusion, and social justice by inviting
community members to lend their voice to the
conversation. It is meant to express more critical
messages about who we are as a city and community still
building and coming together.

17

Destination Inner Peace

Project Description: Destination Inner Peace will integrate

elements of the natural and built environment to
facilitate access to space to connect with oneself and
practice healthy coping mechanisms to reduce stress and
improve mental health. Destination Inner Peace will
create a calming space with a labyrinth, sand tracing area,
water feature and expression wall.
Uniqueness: While the concepts outlined are not in
themselves unique, integrating these elements together
in a centrally located, public space is unique. The
Expression Wall is unique and is modeled after the First
Amendment Wall in Charlottesville, VA.

18

Bike Rack: The Musical

Project Description: Bike Rack: The Musical is a multiparticipant musical instrument that utilizes a bicycle
theme display to encourage connection within the
community though sound and play. It encourages healthy
living activities by providing the practical need of bicycle
parking but also encourages play and interaction through
music for people of all ages and abilities.
Uniqueness: Bike Rack: The Musical is focused on
individual and group interactive play with varied
elements, promotion of biking and healthy lifestyles and
connection to two community initiatives (Childrens
Museum Smart Play Spot and Book Bike). It will focus on
physical activity and community connection.

19

CityViewVR

Project Description: CityViewVR is a room based virtual

reality placed in a public place where the community can
explore the present and future changes of Rochester
through virtual reality. One will be able to travel and walk
through and control present city views then travel to
future city views while standing in the same place within
the city.
Uniqueness: The experience of seeing what Rochester
can become will empower the community to make
passionate informed decisions on the changes they would
like to see. This project will give a virtual reality first time
experienced to many.

20

Info Alley

Project Description: Info Alley will use the overhang next

to the 3rd Street Ramp to share 4-live feeds which
includes a variety of information from event listings,
aggregated video, and interactive social media feeds.
These feeds will be projected on the concrete overhang.
It will provide the public information on what is
happening in the Rochester community.
Uniqueness: Mobile devices and computer can be a great
resource for information and events. However, often they
isolate us into our own world. This display aims to have
the opposite effect. This is where the people gather to
learn what is happening and connect with others in that
exploration.

21

Recharging Wastewater

Project Description: Recharging Waste water will

showcase a simple, yet effective way to recharge
wastewater using readily available materials (rocks, sand,
greenery, fabric, and a fish tank). It will engage Middle
School Earth Science students in teaching about water
treatments and also prototyping.
Uniqueness: This projects uniqueness lies within its
simplicity. The prototype will almost certainly be one of
the easiest to setup, tear down and explain.

22

SWAMP

Project Description: SWAMP brings technology to storm

water management to optimize reuse and visualize the
health of the system. The storm water will be used to
irrigate plants and also to demonstrate a contamination
removal system. Technology will be used during a variety
of steps of this process and project focus. Education
about storm water management will be highlighted.
Uniqueness: Being able to understand the physical world
and structures we all live in and use is important.
Technology can provide the insight needed to build better
structures to be better stewards of our natural
environment. This project seeks to show how that is
possible.

23

Living Wall

Project Description: Living Wall is to create a mock up

green wall that will function as a tool to help people
visualize some of the problems and unique solutions that
face urban design today. It also is typically linked very
closely to storm water management. The intention of the
project is to kick-start new ideas for storm water and
energy management for downtown Rochester.
Uniqueness: The wall will provide an experience that is
not common to Rochester or even in many places in the
Midwest Region. It is intended to give people a new idea
of what an urban environment can feel like when you add
a little more green to the streetscape.