Shape Our Water at the 2024 Seattle Design Festival
Hundreds of visitors made their own Raindrop Run at our fun, colorful, and interactive installation co-designed by local artists Nina Vichayapai and Britta Johnson alongside MAKERS Architecture & Urban Design.
Photo by Trevor Dykstra.
About Raindrop Run
When rain falls, Seattle’s urban environment speeds up stormwater. But what if we designed a city that acted more like nature, where undeveloped landscapes soak up water like a sponge?
Raindrop Run allows participants to design their own stormwater pathway through a collaborative art installation that mimics a traditional marble run. Working together, participants co-design a colorful landscape of human-built and natural solutions for water management, attempting to “slow down the flow” as marbles travels through the installation. Pre-made modular elements allow participants to design and re-design water’s journey on its way from the sky to the Salish Sea. Runs are timed to identify the slowest raindrop run.
Created for the Seattle Design Festival
Shape Our Water debuted Raindrop Run at the Seattle Design Festival Block Party on August 17 and 18, 2024. Keep your eyes peeled and follow us on social media: we’ll be touring Raindrop Run to future community events!
About the artists
Britta Johnson
Britta Johnson is a Seattle-based artist who makes video installations, films, and community projects. For the most part, she makes stop-motion animated installations that explore natural phenomena, with a special focus on light, texture, and movement. Recent works include her sculptures Star Portal and Coccolithophore Snölykta, temporarily on display in Redmond, WA’s Downtown Park. Photo credit: Kirsten Mohan.
Nina Vichayapai
Nina Vichayapai is an artist who creates work that explores what it means to belong within the American landscape. Orienting her belonging somewhere between the Pacific Northwest, where she lives, and Thailand, where she was born, she explores the globalized world for symbols of belonging through textiles, social practice, and placemaking. She graduated from the California College of Arts in 2017 and currently lives in the Pacific Northwest.
About the design lead
Laura Basille
Laura is a designer and planner at MAKERS Architecture and Urban Design; she has a passion for design that supports environmental and social issues. Laura developed an interest in land-based art and environmental sculpture while studying fine arts and environmental science. She spent a decade in the non-profit industry working on environmental and community-based design projects before receiving a Master’s degree in Sustainable Architecture and Landscape design. Laura is excited to participate in Raindrop Run, which allows her to utilize her skills in fabrication for a project that focuses on water quality and environmental education.
Our project team
Raindrop Run was developed by a co-creation team that includes Nina Vichayapai and Britta Johnson (Artists); Dre Avila, Samantha Keller, and Leslie Webster (Seattle Public Utilities); Julie Bassuk, Beth Batchelder, Laura Basile, Claire Farrington, Queenie Gipaya, and Chad Sharp (MAKERS); Anand Balasubrahmanyan and Molly Michal (Team Soapbox).
