Rise
South Lakes High School STEAM Team
July 2023 I Dimensioned Lumber, Paint, Polycarbonate Panels, Color Tint Vinyl, Screws, Wire Cable, Metal Hitching Rings
The objective interpretation of Rise is the growth of the population and literal construction of high-rises and infrastructure. Furthermore, Rise abstractly represents the community’s goals of reaching new heights in progress, innovation, and diversity.
home rather than a mere town.
Photo of Rise at night by Connor Kehde.
Watch video here.
Project History: Rise is the 9th temporary installation realized by students at South Lakes High School (SLHS) for the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) Team public art club. Lake Thoreau resident James Pan approached Reston Association (RA) in 2012 with the idea of involving SLHS students in transforming the unattractive, concrete spillway platform into a work of art. With this initial financial funding, RA partnered with Public Art Reston to support SLHS art teacher, Marco Rando, who leads the STEAM Team after school club. Over the course of a school year STEAM Team members gain real world experience in all aspects of the design, development, and construction of a work of art through a professional public art process. They create design concepts and present them for initial review by the Public Art Reston Public Art Committee and then to the RA Design Review Board for final approval. The final design is tested for durability and constructed by students at the high school where it is disassembled and then reinstalled on the spillway by RA staff for all community members to engage with over the course of the installation.



