Arts & Science Council (ASC) is accepting qualifications from professional artists and professional artist teams for multiple original and site-specific art commissions as part of the Terminal Lobby Expansion (TLE) Public Art Program at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT).
BUDGET: $3,390,000 total; 6-7 opportunities available; individual project budgets range from a $30K design fee to a $1.7M all-inclusive commission budget; see below for details.
ELIGIBILITY: All professional artists, in the U.S. and internationally. Some commission-value eligibility restrictions apply; see below for details.
DEADLINE: Friday, June 8, 2018 by 11:59 p.m. E.S.T.
The complete RFQ, including images, can be found at https://www.artsandscience.org/resources-for/artists/calls-to-artists/
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Thanks to continued and sustained growth, Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is operating at near capacity. Current projects focus on enhancing the CLT customer experience: a comprehensive, airport-wide, wayfinding master plan, and expansion and renovation of the airport’s main terminal lobby. CLT’s main terminal lobby will be expanded to the north to create additional space for security lanes, ticketing and baggage claim areas, as well as 370,000’-sq. of increased circulation space to accommodate the rapid growth CLT has experienced in recent years which has put a strain on the original terminal. For more information about the CLT Terminal Lobby Expansion project, including a brief video overview, please visit: https://www.greshamsmith.com/projects/charlotte-douglas-international-airport-(clt)
ARTIST ELIGIBILITY
Eligible applicants must have successfully completed at least one prior art commission (public or private) within the past five years with a budget representing at least 40% of the TLE project area identified in applicant’s letter of interest—please see “HOW TO APPLY” section for more information. For a TLE project area with a $500,000 budget, for example, eligible artists must have completed at least one original art commission with a total associated budget of no less than $200,000 by the time of RFQ submittal. Please note: This last criterion does not apply to “Integrated Floor Art” commissions, for which there is no threshold budget requirement for past completed projects.
Architects interested in applying must have successfully completed at least three (3) public art projects that are distinguished from infrastructure design within the last five (5) years to be considered eligible to participate in this opportunity. Eligibility must be demonstrated in the application materials submitted. Artist teams must demonstrate prior experience designing and executing completed public art projects as the team described in the applicant’s submittal.
Applicants who have received a commission or purchase from ASC for over $25,000.00 cannot be considered for another commission or purchase for another 3 years after the date of a signed contract or letter of agreement. ASC staff, County or City staff, Public Art Commission members or their immediate families, are not eligible to apply for this project.
PROJECT BUDGET
A total budget of $3,390,000.00 has been allocated to commission multiple site-specific and permanent artworks to be integrated into the Terminal Lobby Expansion project. Individual project budgets vary in structure and scope depending on the scale and location of each opportunity.
All budgets listed in this RFQ fully include artist-design fees and associated travel costs, insurance, fabrication, storage, transportation and installation of the artwork on site with the following exception: artists receiving commissions for “Integrated Floor Art” will be paid a one-time design fee not to exceed $30,000.00. Fabrication and installation of the Integrated Floor Art project areas and associated costs will be managed as part of a separate budget by ASC staff working in close collaboration each commissioned artist, project architects and general-/sub-contractors.
ART PROGRAM SCOPE AND LOCATIONS
The CLT TLE Public Art Program is comprised of 6-7 opportunities for permanent integrated artworks, each with differing budgets dependent on the projects’ respective size, prominence of location, and anticipated material and fabrication needs. The final project locations and scopes identified in the RFQ will be determined by ASC in close collaboration with CLT Airport and the project design team, with careful consideration of input from the selected artists or artist teams.
Please refer to the individual project descriptions below for a more complete understanding of the various TLE art project areas, objectives and associated budgets.
1) Suspended Artwork at Ticketing/Departures Level, Pre-Security. Budget: $1,725,000.00 for 1 artist or artist team. Up to 2 potential locations.
Opportunity for large-scale, signature artwork suspended from the ceiling of the Terminal Lobby at the East, and potentially West wings of pre-TSA check passenger circulation. The artwork will be accessible by ticketed customers and the general public alike. The primary goals of this opportunity are:
Artist may engage designated areas at both East and West Wings of Lobby, or may choose to focus primarily on the East Wing. In either case the artwork may not significantly obscure or obstruct the views of Charlotte’s “Uptown” City skyline furnished by glass curtain wall at East Wing.
2) Integrated Floor Art at Ticketing and Baggage Levels (Terrazzo) & surfaces of Pedestrian Bridge. Artist design fee: $30,000.00 per artist for 2 or 3 artists. Up to 3 potential locations.
An exciting opportunity to contribute a memorable design motif to be integrated into the refurbished lobby floors at both Ticketing (Departures) and Baggage (Arrivals) Levels, with a potential third opportunity to engage the surfaces and underside of two Pedestrian Bridges that will connect Terminal Lobby to Daily Parking Decks. The primary goals of this project are to assist customer wayfinding and to enrich the overall customer experience in a surprising and readily accessible way.
Fabrication and installation of terrazzo and associated costs will be managed by ASC working in close collaboration with commissioned artists, project architects, general contractors and CLT management as part of a separate budget.
3) Domestic Arrivals / Welcome Wall at Arrivals Level, Post-Security. Budget: $550,000.00 for 1 artist.
This is an opportunity for a 2-dimensional mural or 3-dimensional applied wall art / frieze installation intended to greet domestic passengers before they descend to the Baggage Level to either exit the airport or await their luggage. The commissioned artist will create a strong visual presence to engage the end walls of two symmetrical, vertically oriented-elevator wells. The primary goals of this opportunity are:
4) International Arrivals / Welcome Wall. Budget: $525,000.00 for 1 artist.
2-Dimensional mural or 3-Dimensional applied wall art / frieze opportunity at end of FIS corridor; potential for art application on adjacent support columns. The message “welcome to Charlotte” shown in the image represents preliminary design goals and is not a literal representation of the desired final artwork. However, this opportunity does represent a great opportunity for text based artworks, or artists that incorporate text into their work as evidenced by submitted portfolio of works. Goals for this location are as follows:
5) Subterranean Walkways. Budget: $500,000.00 for 1 artist.
2-Dimensional mural or 3-Dimensional applied wall art for two underground walkways connecting daily parking decks to terminal lobby (via elevator back up). There are two art wall locations per walkway, totaling four art wall locations for the entire opportunity. Goals for this location are as follows:
TLE ART PROGRAM GOALS
The art opportunities described in the TLE RFQ have been carefully programmed by ASC in close coordination with project architects Gresham, Smith & Partners and DAS Architecture. The TLE Public Art Program has been conceived to function seamlessly within a comprehensive wayfinding masterplan and the unique context of daily airport operations. Additionally, the program intends to show sensitivity to the presence and history of Kaskey’s Queen Charlotte, which has become an iconic figure for the City of Charlotte and nearly synonymous with the airport itself. The overall goals of the TLE Art Program are to enhance the customer experience and support overall customer utilization, programming and wayfinding plans associated with the Terminal Lobby Expansion.
While the program has no specific theme, extensive discussion with design team members and project stakeholders have yielded the following concepts that may be considered by commissioned artists:
The above themes are by no means comprehensive and are intended to aid artist applicants in gauging their interest in the project, as well as to aid in the selection of relevant and compelling past projects in support of applicants’ submissions to the RFQ.
ARTIST SELECTION
This solicitation process is being undertaken to enable the Public Art Commission to identify the most highly qualified artists for this opportunity. An artist selection panel comprised of local and national arts professionals and community stakeholders appointed by the Public Art Commission will review eligible application, determine a shortlist of finalists, interview three to five finalists and select one artist or team of artists. The selected artist or team of artists will be recommended to the Public Art Commission and the Board of ASC for final approval and contracting.
The commissioned artist or artist team will collaborate with a Design Team consisting of ASC Public Art staff, CLT Aviation Architects and stakeholders, Gresham, Smith & Partners, and DAS Architecture. Exemplary communication and time management skills will be essential to the success of this project.
PROJECT SCHEDULE
Artist Selection
Design Development
Fabrication & Installation*
*Dates provided are estimates based upon ASC’s current knowledge of preliminary project schedules and are only intended to assist artists in determining their own availability to participate in the program. Above dates in no way represent final approved schedules and are subject to change through future iterations of design and construction phases.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Artists will be selected based on the following criteria, as evidenced in application materials and conversations with listed references:
HOW TO APPLY
Applications must be received via SlideRoom (https://asc.slideroom.com) by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018. There is no application fee to apply or use the SlideRoom online application system. The following materials will be required to be uploaded to SlideRoom:
Please note: unrealized project proposals such as drawings, renderings and written descriptions of rejected submittals or commissions at less than 70% completion at time of submission will not be considered, without exception.
SLIDEROOM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Applicants can receive SlideRoom technical support by emailing support@slideroom.com, or by accessing the online help desk: https://support.slideroom.com.
QUESTIONS? Contact Marcus Mitchell at (704) 330-0196 or by email at marcus.mitchell@artsandscience.org.