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Ballston鈥檚 Metro station could soon see a colorful, motion-activated, LED light display as part of a new public art project.
Dubbed 鈥淚ntersections,鈥� the project is being backed by the Ballston Business Improvement District and is still many months away from completion.
But the BID is picking up steam on the effort, according to for the County Board, and it鈥檚 designed to 鈥渃reate a dynamic, ever-changing feature that will turn an ordinary subway entrance into a place of surprise, wonder and delight.鈥�
The BID is teaming up with a Dutch 鈥渄esign/art collective鈥� to create the art installation, which will consist of spotlights projecting a variety of different colors onto the canopy stretching over the Metro station鈥檚 entrance.
The lights will also come equipped with a 鈥渁 grid of sensors鈥� to 鈥減ick up the activity of the people moving in and out of the Ballston station, making the pedestrians active participants in the work,鈥� according to a of 鈥淚ntersections鈥� on the BID鈥檚 website.
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鈥淧edestrians have a direct influence, in that their presence under the canopy will effect the spawning of lines that travel over the canopy,鈥� the design team wrote about the project, according to a county staff report. 鈥淲here these animated lines intersect one another, they will give life to 鈥榓utonomous artifacts of light.鈥� Once these artifacts pass a threshold, they will form the basis of a more involved visual effect. Afterwards, the installation will reset to its initial state.鈥�
The BID is funding the project with the help of a collection of Ballston businesses, and it鈥檚 one in a series of public art installations the group has commissioned over the years.
In a report to be reviewed by the Board at its meeting Saturday (Feb. 23), the BID says it has yet to receive Metro鈥檚 approval for the project, but it expects to win WMATA鈥檚 sign-off soon. Once that鈥檚 done, it鈥檒l take about 15 months to fully design and construct the installation, likely to be completed sometime in fiscal year 2021.
The BID described these changes as part of its annual funding request to the Board. The business group is by a property tax in Ballston, and the BID is asking the Board to hold the tax rate steady this year to maintain its existing operations.
Board members agreed to a small rate hike last year to account for a dip in property values in the area, and the BID argues that it still needs the extra cash. The Board will begin its full round of budget deliberations in earnest Saturday, in what .
