Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks

Kent, Washington

Designed by Herbert Bayer

Intro

“It is an experience of contrast of geometry and harmony with nature.”
- Herbert Bayer (1982)

As a Bauhaus master, Herbert Bayer’s career was dedicated to integrating artistic concerns into the everyday operations of society.

With the Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks, he created a much loved public park, stormwater detention dam, and Modernist masterpiece. A series of sculpted spaces that feel both ancient and modern, the Earthworks’ pure forms—cones, circles, lines, and berms—are built into the alluvial delta at the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon. Grass and concrete, a wood bridge and steps: these are the materials at work, joined by the natural forces of Mill Creek itself. Installed in 1982, the Earthworks were immediately lauded for their fusion of art and infrastructure. Today, the same issues that necessitated building the Earthworks 25 years ago have dramatically intensified.

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education partners

Additional Sponsors

American Society of Landscape Architects’ Indiana, Pennsylvania/Delaware, Minnesota, Northern California, Texas, Upstate New York, and Washington Chapters • Astorino • Charles Butt • Design Within Reach • Topher Delaney • Sandy Donnell & Justin Faggioli • Fathom • Tom Fox • Hillman Foundation • Indianapolis Museum of Art • Lorraine Osmundson • Richard T. Murphy • National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northeast, Southwest, and Western Offices- with funds from the Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation of New York, Dodge Jones Foundation Intervention Fund, and Eastern Massachusetts Preservation Fund • James Richards • Seibert & Rice • Diana & Bruce Shuman • Ann Stack • SWA Group • TBG Partners • Michal and Jeffrey William Tincup • Unilock Inc. • The Woltz Charitable Trust


Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Kent, Washington Designed by Herbert Bayer Intro history threat help learn “It is an experience of contrast of geometry and harmony with nature.” - Herbert Bayer (1982) As a Bauhaus master, Herbert Bayer’s career was dedicated to integrating artistic concerns into the everyday operations of society. With the Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks, he created a much loved public park, stormwater detention dam, and Modernist masterpiece. A series of sculpted spaces that feel both ancient and modern, the Earthworks’ pure forms—cones, circles, lines, and berms—are built into the alluvial delta at the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon. Grass and concrete, a wood bridge and steps: these are the materials at work, joined by the natural forces of Mill Creek itself. Installed in 1982, the Earthworks were immediately lauded for their fusion of art and infrastructure. Today, the same issues that necessitated building the Earthworks 25 years ago have dramatically intensified. more...	Boston City Hall Plaza Boston, Massachusetts Estates Drive Reservoir Oakland, California Heritage Plaza Heritage Park Fort Worth, Texas Kaiser Roof Garden Kaiser Center Oakland, California Lake Elizabeth Allegheny Commons Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Manhattan Square Park Rochester, New York Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Kent, Washington Miller Garden Columbus, Indiana El Monte Hato Rey, Puerto Rico Pacific Science Center Courtyard Seattle, Washington Parkmerced San Francisco, California Peavey Plaza Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, Minnesota Home \| Map \| Exhibit \| Artists \| Press
education partners Additional Sponsors American Society of Landscape Architects’ Indiana, Pennsylvania/Delaware, Minnesota, Northern California, Texas, Upstate New York, and Washington Chapters • Astorino • Charles Butt • Design Within Reach • Topher Delaney • Sandy Donnell & Justin Faggioli • Fathom • Tom Fox • Hillman Foundation • Indianapolis Museum of Art • Lorraine Osmundson • Richard T. Murphy • National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northeast, Southwest, and Western Offices- with funds from the Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation of New York, Dodge Jones Foundation Intervention Fund, and Eastern Massachusetts Preservation Fund • James Richards • Seibert & Rice • Diana & Bruce Shuman • Ann Stack • SWA Group • TBG Partners • Michal and Jeffrey William Tincup • Unilock Inc. • The Woltz Charitable Trust