HOPE FREIGHT
Site responsive installation for the historic train depot
Hope, Arkansas
This outdoor installation is a site responsive design for the barrier wall and perimeter fence of a train station in a small southern town. With just over 10,000 residents, Hope, Arkansas is the birthplace of President Bill Clinton. The project started as a design team renovation of the downtown area and the Clinton birth home. It became a collaborative design for the town’s historic train depot. The collaboration with photographer Paul Hester focused on the legacy of the railroad as transportation and the town as a metaphor for historic opportunities and possibilities.
"Hope Freight" honors the influence of the railroad in the founding and development of many towns like Hope. Founded with the arrival of the railroad in 1875, the town was named for the Stationmaster’s daughter. Like so many other small towns it has both prospered and suffered with the comings and goings of businesses, politicians, and modes of transportation.
The design for this site responsive collaboration was imagined as part of a progression of history. It was envisioned as a look down the tracks of time, seeing and feeling the rhythm of a passing train – or the passage of time. The piece is an appreciation for arrival, departure, and the rich associations with travel and transportation.
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