Located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Bayliss Park was redesigned by landscape architecture firm RDG Planning & Design, from its 1800s original concept to a modern park. They were hired to complete the master plan and see the project through from schematic design to construction and observation. The firm also served as the lead consultant on the project and managing the a team of lighting designers, civil engineers, an art consultant, water feature designers and coordinating with the artist.

Bayliss Park is treated by the community as a city square, as many towns are in that region of the country, so part the Landscape Architects' goal was to modernize the park. The process began through energetic fundraising which launched this project into construction. Interest groups worked with RDG to blend the history of the site and art into a single design. The team saw the opportunity to recreate the historic fountain at the park's center by recreating it through contemporary art while still recognizing its historical value.

The City of Council Bluffs and the Iowa West Foundation retained Public Art & Practice, LLC as art consultants on the project with the directive to transform the original fountain and surrounding park into an engaging space. To accomplish this, they utilized public art to connect the historic elements of the park with the 21st century. Public Art & Practice, LLC partnered with RDG to recommend an appropriate public art site, scale, materials, and budget to allow for this transformation. Brower Hatcher, and internationally recognized artist with Mid-Ocean Studio, designed the park's new fountain, pavilion, an interactive water feature, and seating throughout the site.

Project
There were two components to the project, the first encompassed the main structures of the fountain and pavilion and the second incorporated the lighting design throughout the park. The team worked to reimagine the park so that it would modernize the central public square and the historic downtown of Council Bluffs, reconfirm Bayliss Park as the social center for the community, provide an open-air green space for large community gatherings and events, revitalize the downtown park that had been lacking in modern design elements and character, and establish a focal icon in the central fountain feature that would guide future artwork throughout the city.

The original design incorporated a planting plan with several annuals to bring out the color in the summertime, but the project was revisited in 2016 and the Landscape Architects added more native and adaptive shrubs and perennials to the site. The team also added pedestrian pole lights, tree accent lighting, a few bronze sculptures and some entry lanterns etched with the park name. RDG then worked in conjunction with the artist, Brower Hatcher, in selecting the lighting scheme that would go with the fountain and pavilion.

Fountain

 
The 4,000 square-foot fountain in Bayliss Park features a sculpture by Brower Hatcher named "Wellspring." Water jets surround the fountain and shoot up through the top of the sculpture. The artwork represents "optimism and progress," respecting the city's revitalization efforts that inspired the project.

The fountain was composed of an open mesh material, so the team did several mockups to understand how the structure would be best illuminated alongside the incorporation of water jets, especially given that the two components were composed of two different materials. Additionally, the team found it challenging to account for the water coming from the water jets because they had to light the full water arches that came out at a certain height and fell into the pool. Their solution was to utilize Fountain People and their newly developed ring light which went around the nozzle as opposed to a static fixture sitting in the fountain and shining up. Uplighting was used on the large sculpture at the center of the fountain. To accomplish these diverse lighting requirements, the lighting designer on the project, David Raver with RDG Planning & Design, said they had to consider every angle working three dimensionally at all times to make the lighting successful on this piece.

"Our goal was to accent the main sculpture," Raver explained. "The artist replicated a similar shape and form of the historic fountain, so we wanted to highlight that as the center point of the park."

The lighting design was fully integrated and featured low glare sources, allowing the lighting effects to have a prominent place over the fixtures themselves. The team was also concerned about security around the fountain, given its location in a highly trafficked downtown area, however, the lighting design on the structure itself created a sense of security.

Pavilion
Across from the fountain is a performance pavilion with a dome sculpture called "Oculus," designed by Hatcher. It is made with the same mesh wire as "Wellspring" and consists of a series of mirrors and four different colors of wires. Raver also served as the lighting designer for the pavilion. To accommodate Hatcher's request not to have any fixtures on the pavilion itself, Raver and the lighting design team used uplighting next to the columns to illuminate into the dome-shaped structure.
Raver explained that one of the major goals for the project and the pavilion was to hide the source of lighting and have the focus be on the lighting effect. To accomplish this goal, the team integrated lighting fixtures in the surrounding paving material. In this way, they were able to avoid putting any fixtures into the art piece while still illuminating it. Furthermore, because the Oculus was composed of a serval mirrors within the mesh wire, the uplighting reflected back down and provided light for the space below.

Raver explained, "We worked with the Landscape Architect on the project and determined the best way to achieve our lighting goals was to put four-inch diameter puck lights around the base of each column to accentuate them, and then have the uplights reflect back down into the performance area."

Conclusion
Reflecting on the outcome of the project, Raver discussed how the visual effect of the fountain and sculpture combined with the water jets and lighting provides the appearance that the sculpture is almost floating over the fountain, "It looks like a very heavy sculpture, but when it's lit and the water aerates through the structure and creates a mist, it's almost like white noise where it just has kind of a soft hiss to it and makes it look extremely light, as if it's just floating there above the fountain."

Raver appreciated the project's "nod back to history" with the new fountain being a reflection of the previous one while also incorporating a modern sculpture that points towards development and the future.

Artist Brower Hatcher reflecting on his work in saying, "it was a very successful project. You could see changes in the community as it became part of their lives and, over the years, it continues to inspire."

Team:
Landscape Architect: RDG Planning & Design
Lighting Design: RDG Planning & Design
Electrical Engineer: RDG Planning & Design
Civil Engineer: HGM Associates, Inc.
Sculptor: Brower Hatcher, Mid-Ocean Studios
Client: Iowa West Foundation
Art Consultant: Public Art & Practice, LLC