Commissioned by the U.S. General Services Administration Art in Architecture Program, as part of their retrofit of a historic building for their new Pacific Rim headquarters, the installation of the landscape sculpture entitled Ribbons elegantly shifts the hierarchical orders of Beaux-Art and Second Renaissance Revival architecture into a site specific contemporary landscape sculpture at the center of the building’s 24,000 square foot courtyard. Designed by Arthur Brown Jr., architect of San Francisco’s City Hall and three other landmark Civic Center buildings, 50 UN Plaza was built in 1936 as the final structure in a seven-building complex composing the San Francisco Civic Center, which was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1987.

50 UN Plaza is a showcase for appropriate sustainable measures in a significant historic building. Awarded LEED Platinum certification, the renovation is a stellar example of Deep Green Retrofit. To meet the challenge for sustainable materials and stay within budget, for Ribbons Cliff Garten Studio developed a system of interchangeable, repeatable sculptures fabricated by casting recycled concrete in fiberglass molds and carved the granite fountains from remnant blocks.

Ribbons is a significant sculptural response to the architecture and sustainability by extending the contemporary dialogue between sculpture, architecture and landscape to integrate the three into a single statement comprised of a sculptural matrix of paving, seating, fountains, and planting. The titular sculptures twist and fall to form a rhythmic circulation system that loosely reflect the twists of a ribbon. Two carved dark gray-green granite fountains, individually weighing 4,500 pounds, anchor the long axis of the courtyard providing the subtle sound of water flowing over their polished surfaces.

The integrated composition of sculpture and landscape, uses the vertical movement of a grid of Himalayan White Birch to counter balance the horizontal emphasis of the sculptures.The white trunks of the birch harmonize with the white brick building. A pallet of reddish pink created by native Coral Bell layers over a coarsely textured, bright green backdrop of Deer Fern defined in linear planting beds beneath the under story forest of birch. By interjecting the dynamics of growth into Ribbons, the project challenges the stability long associated with sculpture. Whereas a singular sculptural object occupies a specific space, a landscape sculpture becomes a system of parts that influence and mutually interact with one another. As the elements of the sculpture intermingle so to do the patrons of the courtyard. Ribbons is the social heart of 50 UN Plaza serving as its central gathering space, enhancing the collaborative atmosphere of the modern work place and providing a borrowed landscape for the surrounding floors of the collaborative office spaces. 

Awards This Project Has Received

2016

·        American Architecture Prize, Honorable Mention

2014

·        American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Southern California Chapter, Quality of Life Award

·        Americans for the Arts, Public Art Network (PAN), Year in Review Award for an Exemplary Innovative Public Artwork

·        General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service Commissioner Award

·        General Services Administration, Federal Building Champion, Favourite Green Building

·        General Services Administration, Design Awards Building Design+Construction, Reconstruction Awards: Gold

·        Construction Management Association of America,National Project Achievement Award, Modernization

·        Engineering News-Record, California’s Best Projects 2014, Award of Merit

·        California Preservation Foundation, Design Award: Rehabilitation