PLANTING ART. A new informational kiosk, created by a team of local artisans, was installed in Phoenix Park on Tuesday, May 9.

A new kiosk installed in Eau Claire’s Phoenix Park on Tuesday, May 9, will be more than a source of information. It will be a work of art and an oasis of plant life.

The kiosk is the culmination of a partnership by skilled artisans, notably woodworker Tim Brudnicki and artist and landscaper Joe Maurer, who collaborate under the name Timber Space. A work crew that included Brudnicki, Maurer, and Greg Johnson of Artisan Forge Metalworks gathered early Tuesday morning to install the kiosk with the help of a crane.

The mushroom-shaped structure, titled “Two Ellipses,” is made of pine and corten steel, an alloy designed to weather to a rusty patina. Its roof will be planted with alpine species that can live in little soil, Maurer said. A second similarly shaped planter with seating around its edges was placed on the ground nearby. The kiosk and planter sit in a narrow portion of the park between the Haymarket Plaza pedestrian bridge and Riverfront Terrace.

The structure was designed by Brudnicki and Maurer with the metal portions constructed by Artisan Forge Metalworks. Lien and Peterson Architects served as structural engineers, as they have for other projects by Brudnicki and Maurer, such as the “Street Beetle” installed on the UW-Eau Claire campus in 2021.

Already on Tuesday evening, Johnson of Artisan Forge noticed that it was catching the eyes of park-goers. “It’s a really unique piece,” he said.

In the coming days, the city is expected to install digital screen-sharing community announcements that will face the bridge.

While the kiosk was placed on city property, it was funded by the North Barstow/Medical Business Improvement District, which will also pay for its maintenance. The Eau Claire City Council approved the project in 2021.

Learn more about the collaborations between Brudnicki and Maurer at timberspace.net.