HIGH WATER MARK / Austin, Tx

High Water Mark was Thoughtbarn’s contribution to the inaugural “Creek Show”, an annual event organized by Waterloo Greenway, an organization stewarding the transformation of Waller Creek into a major linear park through Austin.  Five local designers created light-based temporary artworks along the creek as an initiative to bring people to the area and propel public interest in its future development.

High Water Mark is a manifestation of an invisible line that will eventually be erased – Waller Creek’s 100-year floodplain. Thanks to the vast new Waller Creek stormwater bypass tunnel, 28 acres of downtown will be newly opened up for redevelopment. The idea of High Water Mark was to make visible a fragment of this disappearing floodplain with a 50’ long installation of electroluminescent wire inspired by hydrological flow patterns. Suspended above the creek under the 7th St bridge, visitors were invited to imagine the area under extreme flood conditions, while enjoying the chance to see illuminated the (usually hidden) spectacular double curvature stonework of the bridge.

The installations were featured on Culture Map and the Architects Newspaper.