Art on The Vine

In planning The Vine, C-TRAN incorporated public art throughout the design of the system. These functional art elements are embedded into the stations themselves to serve a purpose beyond just aesthetics. C-TRAN contracted with three artists for The Vine: Koryn Rolstad of Seattle, Wash., Robert Tully of Louisville, Colo., and Roberto Delgado of Los Angeles, Calf.

Windscreeens

At every station along The Vine corridor, protective windscreens are adorned with art that reflects the character and surroundings of each location. Artist Robert Tully created a unique design for each station. At the Todd Road station, next to Evergreen Park, it’s whimsical images of children playing. At Grand Boulevard, a quilt-like design celebrates the food of Fourth Plain’s international corridor. Letters from multiple languages appear at the Andresen Road station. The rest of the stations use varied imagery and symbolism to highlight other aspects of the community.
Images of historic downtown are interwoven with turtles and natural habitat that once defined the area. The concept implies a connection between the environment and development.
The design of the windscreen is based on stained-glass windows inside the nearby Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater. Eleven historical illustrations within the design highlight key figures and stories from the church’s history in the community.
The design of the windscreen is based on stained-glass windows inside the nearby Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater. Eleven historical illustrations within the design highlight key figures and stories from the church’s history in the community.
A prominent brick pattern at this station is a reference to the Hidden House, located one block away, and the ubiquitous Hidden bricks used throughout downtown Vancouver.
The book-themed design at this station stems from the fact that the location is one block from the old Carnegie library building that now houses the Clark County Historical Museum. Two other items – a plum used to make prunes, and an old plane – evoke other aspects of the region’s history.
A kaleidoscope-like pattern of octagon shapes is inspired by the dome of a nearby church, and the many restaurants in the area. Within each shape are tables with place settings and chairs.
The design uses symbols to represent the two namesakes of the nearby Marshall/Luepke Center. Doves with olive branches refer to George Marshall’s winning of the Nobel Peace Prize, and roses are a nod to the Luepke family’s longstanding florist business in Vancouver. The flowers and doves go together as symbols of peace.
Similar to the Gaiser Hall station, images of flowers and keys symbolize beauty and knowledge against an abstract background of green and contrasting dark colors. The station is located along Fort Vancouver Way near Clark College.
Similar to the Central Campus station, images of trees and keys symbolize knowledge against an abstract background of green and contrasting dark colors. The station is located along Fort Vancouver Way near Clark College.
Images of people walking through trees evoke nearby Vancouver Central Park, used by people passing through the area year-round.
This design celebrates the food of Fourth Plain’s international corridor with a quilt-like design made of photographs of produce in stores. The quilt design serves as a metaphor for the patchwork of different cultures in the area.
Located next to Evergreen Park, this station design includes whimsical images of children playing in a grassy pattern. During the summer, the park is often busy and hosts numerous youth-friendly events.
The windscreen describes the history of Vancouver’s Kaiser Shipyards, which played a major role in building ships during World War II. Many shipyard workers lived along Fourth Plain while it was in operation.
This station reflects Vancouver’s connection with Hawaii, which dates back to the Hudson’s Bay Company and continues to this day. The design includes an image of Fort Vancouver, an old map of Hawaii and other Hawaiian-inspired images and symbols.
A bright, colorful pattern on the windscreen is inspired by the piñatas sold along Fourth Plain’s international corridor, highlighting the area’s liveliness and diversity.
hough it could apply to many cultures, this colorful design is inspired by Vietnamese textiles.
The windscreen includes letters from various alphabets and languages to represent the diversity of Fourth Plain’s international corridor. Prominent letters are from the English, Spanish, Russian, Ukranian Thai and Vietnamese languages. Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, Punjab, Tibetan and Arabic are also included.
rees on the windscreen reflect the station’s surroundings in a residential area near the Sea Mar Community Health Center. The trees are depicted as family groups, some leaning on each other, visually linking people to nature.
A painting of colorful vines against a gray background defines this station, located near towering trees, a golf course and a gray brick wall on one side of the street.
The design is an abstraction inspired by lights at night, reflecting the feel of the busy commercial area near SR 500 and the Vancouver Mall.

Art Tiles and Medallions

All 33 Vine platforms include art tiles that identify each station in a visually arresting way. Created by artists Roberto Delgado and Yami Duarte, the tiles also include a corridor map that marks the corresponding location. For Washington and 12th Street, Delgado created five sidewalk medallions that convey the history of the adjacent Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater, a downtown Vancouver landmark, and include images of Mother Joseph and other figures from its history. Legendary LocalsAt Turtle Place, a series of art tiles on the plaza display the faces of dozens of notable people in Vancouver’s past and present. Those pictured include everyone from John McLoughlin, chief factor for the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort Vancouver in the 1800s, to former Vancouver mayor and 2010 First Citizen Royce Pollard. All of the images were drawn from the book “Legendary Locals of Vancouver,” published in 2011 by local author and historian Pat Jollota. The Turtle Place tiles were also created by Delgado.

Vancouver Mall Transit Center Art

At the new Vancouver Mall Transit Center, artist Koryn Rolstad designed and created multiple art elements for the facility. Art glass panels on the shelters depict the four seasons amid a green “stix” pattern. Rolstad also arranged the layout of a sandblasting pattern on the platform concrete.

Why public art?

The Vine is the biggest project in C-TRAN’s history, and incorporating public art to such an extent is something the agency hasn’t done before. C-TRAN and other partners chose to include art in order to create a more enjoyable experience for riders while highlighting the history and identity of the community. Functional art also serves a practical purpose, and discourages vandalism on The Vine’s stations.