The sea of asphalt, big box, and strip malls that sprawls northward from the historic downtown core of Burien is, in it’s own way, every bit as bleak as a dry lakebed in the Nevada desert, so the appearance of flame throwers synced with electronic music and 30-foot tall sculptures of scrap metal may not be as incongruous as the average Staples shopper likely believes.

This was the unlikely scene yesterday evening at the opening of the Burien/Interim Art Space (B/IAS). The space, envisioned as a “p-patch for art,” occupies a vacant parcel upon which the next phase of Burien Town Square will be built when market conditions improve (more here). The nearly completed 124-unit first phase is shown in the photo below — quite the sight to see, this Seattle-style 7-story condo project towering over lowrise Burien.

The B/IAS model for making good use of temporarily useless space is classic lemonade from lemons. And given the current state of the real estate market, there is no shortage of potential sites out there. I’m thinking duck pond in the hole at 2nd and Pine.