The City of Stockton is a centerpiece in the agricultural belt known as the “Central Valley.” This fertile region is significant for the economic strength of Stockton and the State of California. Stockton has thrived as a service center and distribution point for the products grown in the Central Valley, and the public art piece “Lightstalk” makes reference to this legacy, honoring the importance of agriculture for the City’s prosperity.

The design is also sensitive to the architecture of downtown Stockton. The City has a number of strong examples of ornamental and architectural details in the downtown area. Some of these ornaments are botanical in character. The designs for “Lightstalk” acknowledge the historical antecedents of these architectural details, many of which grew out of abstractions of botanical forms such as stems, leaves, petals, and so on.

The public art design consists of three distinct elements integrated throughout the structure. First and most prominent is the entrance column at the northwest corner of the building. With the application of fiberglass column covers and integrated LED light strips, this element is the entrance feature of the building - a landmark for the use of the facility and a beacon for patrons of the downtown theaters. The column covers establish vertical “flutes” that evolve to become organic “fins,” acknowledging the agricultural history of Stockton while referring to the City’s historic roots. These column covers are shaped so as to appear to grow up and out of the fluted column, revealing the emergence of botanical forms. The LED light strips, hidden inside the translucent reveals between column fins, cause the column to glow from within.

Another public art element takes place on the northeast side of the building. These small cast medallions fit into the columns on this corner, embellishing the architecture and providing interest and detail. Three different designs were developed, each of them a further abstraction of a plant-like form, so that the original design element appears to be evolving as it emerges up each column.

All of these integrated elements are designed to work together with the building’s architecture, reinforcing the design’s historical antecedents and acknowledging Stockton’s architectural roots. The column on the northwest corner is the main focus of the design, offering a distinct signature and serving as a beacon for the facility. As a series of organic design elements on a strongly geometric structure, the public art acknowledges and celebrates the design influence of nature. These details and design elements appear to grow up and out of the building, revealing a quality that is ingrained, exposing the roots of the design sensibility. The emergence of these forms is an acknowledgement of something essential; our debt to the intrinsic design strategies of nature, and our dependence on nature for health and inspiration.