SITELAB

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

‘Persistence’ is a living installation that responds to the inherent conditions that have accumulated on the site at Franklin SE and Madison SE. The site, besides hosting the former Grand Rapid Christian High building and courtyard, comprises approximately 1.5 acres of impermeable paved surface. This installation will utilize over 300 Populus deltoides to reveal the hidden nature of what persists in the ground as well as movement on the land conditions above including water, air, and people - a condition not dissimilar to a post-glacial landscape. This native species is adept at colonizing mineral-based environments like gravel out washes and sand dunes. Its tendency to grow quickly allows for it to stay above mounting and shifting sands, while a unique adaptation called root crowing allows it, unlike almost all other trees, to grow roots from almost any place along its trunk.

This colonizing tree is a key species in dune stabilization in the Great Lakes region, allowing for the dune succession to move from dune grassland to dune forest. For humans, it is a key tool in forestry as a genetic component of the hybrid popular, used for timber and pulp productions as well as one of the most successful of trees employed in phytoremediation of contaminated sites. We utilize this unique tool to highlight, reveal and respond to specific arrangements of paving, light, and moisture in the existing condition by planting allées of Populus deltoides whips in three distinct areas, the maintenance drive and lawn area adjacent to Morris Avenue, the interior courtyard of the building, and the parking lot on the corner of Madison and Franklin.

Supporting this afforestation agenda is a series of markings that note conditions via paint or assist in the sustaining of this piece via grow lights, mirrors, and diverted roof water. Albeit for a period yet to be determined, this forest is limited, but it will persist as material to be utilized far after its life as art, urban forest, soil cleaner, and space maker. Once felled, this material will be made available for use in building construction as a finishing material or casework. The landscape will persist.