The Wave Field, one of the university’s most popular public art spaces, was designed 30 years ago, in 1995, by architectural and landscape artist Maya Lin, who also designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama.
Lin used the study of fluid dynamics, aerodynamics and turbulence, as well as aerial views of ocean waves, to create 50 gentle undulations from soil and grass.
The 10,000-square-foot land art is located on North Campus, adjacent to the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building.
The Wave Field was commissioned by the FXB Foundation as a memorial to Bagnoud, who graduated from U-M in 1982 with a degree in aeronautical engineering and joined Air Glacier, Switzerland’s largest private Alpine rescue and mountain flying company. Bagnoud died at the age of 24 in a helicopter crash in the desert of Mali, West Africa.
The field’s eight rows of ripples were designed to cast shadows that change throughout the day — and year. The site may be viewed from nearby classrooms and surrounding gardens, and it serves as a serene, scenic gathering spot for students.
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Lin was so taken with the effect of The Wave Field in Ann Arbor, she later designed two more undulating art-scapes: Flutter in Miami, Florida, in 2005, and Storm King Wavefield in New Windsor, New York, in 2009.
The Wave Field is part of U-M’s collection of approximately 130 pieces of public art on display around Central and North campus, as well as near buildings that include the U-M Museum of Art, the Bentley Historical Library and the Randall Laboratory.
Elizabeth James
Thanks so much for sharing this story about such a wonderful space. I was unaware of its presence, but I’ll be sure to visit North Campus to visit!