Arts Commission recommends 30‑foot Sam Falls sculpture at City Line to City Council

The Sunnyvale Arts Commission unanimously recommended that City Council approve a 30‑foot public sculpture by California artist Sam Falls for the City Line development in downtown Sunnyvale.

The commission made the recommendation at its April 16 meeting after a presentation from the project presenter, Ellie, who described the piece as a vertical I‑beam wrapped in vibrant ceramic tiles that incorporate local plant matter and imagery of redwood flora. Staff said the sculpture, titled as the fourth artwork in Phase 2 of the City Line public art program, will sit on Francis Street as a gateway between the train station and Redwood Square and is intended to have a minimal footprint while reaching about halfway up the second story of the adjacent building.

The commission’s recommendation follows the city’s art and private development ordinance requirement that private developments allocate a minimum of 1 percent of construction valuation for public art. Staff said this City Line project was permitted before adoption of the citywide public art master plan and is proceeding under the ordinance’s requirements.

Commissioners discussed lighting, sightlines and the piece’s relationship to the sun and shadows. Staff described an in‑ground foundation roughly 4 feet 4 inches under the sidewalk that will receive the work, and said the artist intends the sculpture to function interactively with daylight — a feature the presenter described as a sundial‑like quality. Commissioners asked staff to run a sun study and to refine a lighting approach that meets the city’s dark‑sky standards and minimizes light spill beyond the sculpture.

Ellie said the total artist fee and fabrication budget for the artwork is about $153,000 and that the developer partners, Hunter Properties and Saris Regis, have agreed to cover site‑work costs so the percent‑for‑art budget will focus on the artwork itself. Staff said three other Phase 2 works at City Line have already been installed; this is the fourth and final Phase 2 piece.

The Arts Commission voted 4–0, with one member excused, to recommend the sculpture for City Council consideration. The item will be scheduled for Council review in early May.

“I’ll try to have those two aspects answered for you by the city council next month, too, with the spotlighting and the sundial,” Ellie said after the vote.