The deadline for submissions is being extended to Monday, May 17 at 11:59pm CST to allow the entirety of the weekend to complete awesome pieces of design for the grain elevator.  Thanks to the many who have already sent us your submissions.

22,000 SQ. FT. is the mantra recited in Nick Sopers head these days.  As Emerging Terrain’s Banner Installation Program Assistant, he is responsible for figuring out how to hang 22,000 square feet of art on the enormous convex concrete silo structures and then making it happen.

We immediately thought of Nick for this endeavor, for a variety of reasons.  Almost 10 years ago, while taking a park planning course with our director, Anne, Nick relayed an adventure story from his weekend.  Apparently he and a friend decided to gather up their rock climbing gear and put it to use on a nearby abandoned grain elevator.  When mountains are not a part of the local landscape vernacular, the creative, adventure seeking imagination will begin to see anything large and vertical as a potential mountain.  Not really thinking about this adventure as trespassing, Nick and his friend were surprised to soon be in conversation with a local law enforcement agent.

Nick is a landscape architect having recently acquired a Masters of Landscape Architecture from the University of Colorado – Denver and currently conducts site-specific landscape interventions with the Nebraska Department of Roads. Although he is interested in all aspects of design and planning, what really gets him worked up is construct-ability – how all the parts work together.

Nick previously managed budgeting and installation of projects based on written construction specifications for smaller landscape projects throughout Nebraska and Colorado.  In Nick’s spare time he is an avid recreational rock climber, cyclist, and bike mechanic, which combined with his experience overseeing construction, brings the necessary skills to plan and coordinate this massive installation.  Come September, Nick will regularly be seen dangling by a rope or standing on a giant hydraulic lift at the grain elevator.

1.What does the attachment mechanism of the banners to the structure look like?

The banners will be folded over a curved steel bar at the top, which will not be visible, and then attached directly to the structure with stainless steel anchors and grommets every 3-4′ down both sides and across the bottom.

2. Are there particular ‘images’ you are looking for on the 3 open image pages?

These pages have purposefully been left open to the entrants discretion, but we highly advise showing us what your image will look like on the actual structure, and at the proportions of the 20′x80′ finished piece. Please do not send us a picture of a square painting with no connection to the grain elevator or the size and shape of the banners.  This is a site specific installation and since the topic is ultimately about context and the greater contemporary regional landscape, specifically the importance of this structure within that, please consider this in your submission.

3. Are you looking for agricultural images only?

No.  Again, the focus of this competition is about much more than agriculture.

4. Is there a way to find out how much grain was stored in these structures throughout their life as such?

We do not have that information, but you are welcome to do research about this from the grain company that owned the elevator, Foxley and Sons – later acquired by Scoular.

5. What is the composition of the final printed banners?

The final banners will be a product called Mesh Summit (Mesh 100) meaning that it is as mesh with 100 squares/inch.  It is polyester that is coated on both sides with PVC, although we are hoping to find a different coating material and are exploring this with the print company.