Hillsboro’s gateway public art piece is now internationally recognized for its functional beauty.

Bridge of Land & Sky, which serves as the artistic gateway to the Hillsboro community, spans the length of the Brookwood overpass over Highway 26. In August, the visual stunner was selected as one of CODAawards 2024’s Top 100 projects from around the globe, taking home the top prize in the Team of the Year award category as well.

The CODAawards (Collaboration of Design & Art) honor international projects that integrate commissioned art into an interior, architectural, or public spaces. Each year, a 12-person jury selects the Top 100 most successful international projects that create the public and private spaces that inspire us every day.

Designed by acclaimed artist Cliff Garten, Bridge of Land & Sky is two undulating powder-coated steel ribbons inspired by a topographical map and the peaks and valleys of the Tualatin Hills. It is functional public art, replacing what would have otherwise been a standard chain-link safety fence.

“Technical complexity of transforming a security barrier to something that expresses the landscape and the curated light show that brings it to life are lovely."

 — Cheryl Catterall, former Creative Director of Moment Factory, juror for the 2024 CODAawards

Bridge of Land & Sky is one of the few highway overpasses in Oregon that have been treated as art gateways, transforming functional infrastructure into artwork that is highly visible to people inside the 60,000 cars that pass underneath it each day.

Here, infrastructure is a reflection of its environment, functioning to fulfill our needs as well as our desires for beauty in our everyday activity.

Bridge of Land & Sky was installed in 2023 in partnership with the City of Hillsboro, Oregon Department of Transportation, and Washington County. 

Images: Jeremy Green Courtesy of Cliff Garten Studio.

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• New Public Artwork, Bridge of Land and Sky, Serves as a “Gateway to Hillsboro”