With their steel beams and cast concrete surfaces, stadium circulation areas can seem cold. Designers of the westside renovation of Oregon State University’s Reser Stadium, mandated by the state’s Percent for Art Program to apply a portion of the project budget to the procurement of art, positioned a 30-by-50-foot assemblage of wood to pull double-duty — provide a warm visual greeting between a stadium entrance and the OSU Welcome Center as visitors approach the west elevation, as well as accent the journey of fans on escalators and an elevated exterior walking path. Tennessee artist Ben Butler emerged from dozens of applicants in the state’s months-long selection process and was given roughly 16 months to design, fabricate and install his artwork, all during stadium construction. Individual panels of reclaimed Douglas fir were secured front and back to a steel support structure, giving the wood the look of one solid, 2-foot-thick slab — particularly given that Butler had carved an elaborate woodgrain pattern deep into both sides. The art is stained and sealed to protect it from Pacific Northwest weather, while providing a playful nod to OSU’s “Beavers” nickname. “We’ve just been really thrilled at how well it all turned out,” CannonDesign architect Bethany Gelbrich, an art minor herself who managed the progressive design build approach to th
