Sound Transit is entering its final design stage and moving forward with a public art plan for East Link. As the project design edges forward, details such as station materials and landscaping will need to be taken into consideration.

With 14 miles, 10 stations, retaining walls, tunnels and yards of concrete rebar, says Barbara Luecke, Art Program Manager for ST, design is critical to the final product.

“[Sound Transit’s] established public art program is tightly integrated with the design process,” said Luecke, “because public art is a big part of the culture here.”

Outside Seattle’s Central Link Columbia City station, Luecke recalls a piece by Gale McCall, called “Relic in the Garden.” Two colossal bronze magnifying glasses, enclose what look to be etched into the lenses, outlines of flowers, a garden faucet and other intricate details, a piece that she says reflects the character of the neighborhood. In Rainier Beach glass mosaics adorn a substation and service building. At Othello, stacks of oversized icons – chopsticks, a rice bowl and a Japanese sandal – created by Roger Shimomura is said to provoke conversation about immigrant culture in the U.S.

The agency hopes to preserve the same attention to detail with its East Link extension. That means taking into account that the city will grow and demographic change before East Link opens in 2023. Luecke says development of city pockets like the Spring District, will be monitored to account for final design.

“It’s an exciting question for the communities: What makes a good space? What are the features that make people want to linger?” says Luecke. “Alignment doesn’t open for 10 years. It will be a larger place with different people using these stations and I think this is an exciting opportunity for people to contribute to the community…Because it’s rare that any of us gets to build on this scale.”

The city’s decision to incorporate a Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) to review permits, setbacks, landscape development requirements and context-sensitive design means that Bellevue and ST are still making sense of what community involvement will look like. In the meantime, ST is accepting applications for artists interested in projects ranging in size, complexity and budget (from $30,000 to $600,000). Art projects won’t be limited just to station design, but also will include elements between stops. Those selected will be included on a roster to be considered for future art projects, but are not guaranteed to be assigned anything.

“It’s important,” says Luecke, “to make these facilities more livable, workable additions to the neighborhood.”

You can find the application here.