Lorna Jordan

Terraced Cascade

“Now there is one outstandingly important fact regarding Spaceship Earth, and that is that no instruction book came with it.”
— R. Buckminster Fuller

Located in Chapparal Park behind the northern baseball fields and south of the Xeriscape Demonstration Garden, this earthwork highlights water harvesting in the desert landscape. Curving hillside terraces channel water runoff down a central ridge and into adjoining rib-like planters. This “spinal tap” reminds us of the role of human support in a naturally arid ecosystem.

Artist Lorna Jordan has participated in public art master-planning in both Seattle and Broward County, Florida. She is known for creating environmental artworks that function in alignment with the larger area’s water cycles.