POST TENSION
A Sculptural Garden Environment
Northridge, CA
It is January 17, 1994 in the early morning. An eerie rumbling is heard across the land centered in Northridge, California. It is an earthquake, one more hurdle for the Golden State to overcome. Riots, fires, and floods have all come and gone but the aftermath of the earthquake still remains.
Damaged remains after 1994 earthquake
Disaster after earthquake
The Cal State Northridge Campus turned this disaster into inspiration with a unique work of art incorporating pieces of our damaged campus. The work was conceived by Marjorie Sievers. Sievers who earned her degree from Northridge, used remnants of a campus parking structure which collapsed during the quake. A suitable source for the work, images of the parking structure with it's bent columns have appeared in Newspapers and Magazines around the world and have become symbolic of the event.
The commemorative sculpture is located next to the bookstore. The Garden Elements, designed by Landscape Architect Paul Lewis, incorporated sculpture made from bent columns and other rubble. A Water Feature, Earthquake Walk, Shade Trees and Benches are an inviting gathering place for Students and Visitors.
The Garden was built with only private funding and was finished construction in 2003.
