Elevated Wetlands
November 28th, 2006
Design: Noel Harding
Client: Canadian Plastics Industry Association
Date: 1997-98
These beautiful sculpture installation pieces are a great example of art combined with (down to earth) function. Located in Toronto’s Don River valley, the structures are clearly visible from the busy Don Valley Parkway.
The Elevated Wetlands are a group of large polystyrene (same material as soft coffee cups) containers filled with plastics (like bottles, shredded car tires, etc.). The plastics hold soil, and the soil supports plant life. Water from the Don River is pumped, using solar energy, into ponds, and from the ponds into the polystyrene containers, where it filters through until it is released back into the river, much cleaner than it was when it started.
-Eva Nitsch
Entry Filed under: Best of the CDR,Urban
4 Comments Add your own
1. admin | November 28th, 2006 at 14:37
I love this project and knew very little about it.
Thanks for the post.
TF
2. Gregory | November 28th, 2006 at 18:02
great post.
cheers
3. Dylan Pask | December 1st, 2006 at 13:26
I’ve driven past these literally hundreds of times over the years and had very little idea of what they were. I deducted they must have been related somehow to environmental recycling however, I had no Idea they had anything to do with the cleansing of the Don River’s water, something many Torontonians would like to see happen within their lifetimes.
-Dylan Pask
4. yeon Lee | December 1st, 2006 at 13:37
I like these sculpture a lot because they are very nature looking even though they are made of plastic. I was really impressed by the sculptures are very environment friendly.
They are a huge motivation to artists and designers.
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