The Challenge

“The Frankie Pace Park (I-579 CAP Park) is a unique project that evolved from the original design sketches of the Lower Hill District Master Plan. In the master plan, a park was suggested to span the interstate that severed the historic African American neighborhood from the downtown business district. LaQuatra Bonci Associates (LBA) organized an extensive public process to program the park and select local artists to join the design team. The park was to recognize the historical and cultural aspects of the Lower Hill neighborhood.  A portion of the design process included integrating art within the site design. One of the multiple key art elements was the ‘Totems,’ sketched by Lakeisha Byrd, designed by LBA, and constructed by Modular International.“ Dan McDowell (Senior Associate – LaQuatra Bonci Associates)

Modular International’s challenge was to manufacture six 16-foot-tall upright Totems with lighting elements incorporated while meeting requirements for three different fixture styles, two of which for ADA accessibility. These Totems would become a decorative lighting focal point for the new Frankie Pace Park located across the street from the former Mellon Arena site in Pittsburgh, PA.

The Solution

Modular International’s approach to this project involved communication and coordination with LaQuatra Bonci Associates, Pittsburgh Sports & Exhibition Authority and Penn Dot to provide design assistance, a scaled cross section mock-up, domestically sourced material requirements and documentation, as well as lighting calculations, custom engineering, and fabrication of the final fixture designs.

Download the case study