project date: 2004 | by peter reedijk | 1 related blog(s)

The Sheyenne River Valley Byway is a magnificent 100-mile-long drive through some of the nation's most rural, pastoral, and scenic landscape. The Federal Highway Administration, recognizing the byway's outstanding qualities, designated the route a National Scenic Byway in 2002.

Sea Reach designed and fabricated a series of large rock sculptures - meant to celebrate the Valley's abundance of glacial erratic ricks - for the byway entrances, byway markers, orientation kiosks and interpretive exhibits. The distinct shape, graphic treatment, and color scheme unifies the overall system. Even the concrete pad for the exhibits has a distinct shape that tells the visitor "you are in a special place."

Each exhibit displays two interpretive panels on either side of a byway map. The two panels present related, thematic topics that provide the reader with more information than is typically found in a single exhibit. The left side presents "big picture" subject matter relating to the byway, while the right side offers a supporting site-specific story. Each exhibit is detailed with a custom, laser-cut, aluminum icon set within a triangular aluminum frame depicting some aspect of the site story. Each panel also has a large thematic background image meant to frame the exhibit and create overall ambiance and texture unique to each site the byway.