Public Art Sought for Parking Garage Exterior

The Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA) seeks public art design proposals for its new $23 million parking garage in Park Union District in downtown Oklahoma City.

Budget:  $134,000 (fee is for design and fabrication/installation oversight only; fabrication and installation will be performed by others)

Eligibility:  Professional artists over 18

Deadline: January 8, 2019

Download the full RFQ here.

Project Description

The public art design and installation oversight sought through this announcement will address three “skin” walls of the new parking garage.

• The west facing wall is 4,860 sf
• The south facing wall is 78,400 sf
• The east facing wall is 27,040 sf

The materials to be used are Duo-Gard FUSION colored tiles (4” square polycarbonate tiles) with metal fasteners. More information about the tiles can be found here: https://www.duogard.com/product/fusion/ . They will be installed on vertical steel cables spaced approximately 4.75” apart. The tiles come in 102 standard colors and three different finishes from clear to matt. Building code specifies that the “skin” walls allow for fifty percent coverage for proper ventilation in the parking garage.

The artwork for the three “skin” walls will be designed by the selected artist. The final design will be installed by the general contractor Manhattan Construction who is responsible for all materials. They have hired a glazing company to install the polycarbonate squares. This Call to Artists includes final designs in accordance with code requirements, coordination and oversight provided by the contracted artist.

Additionally, the design sought will be:

• Instantly memorable
• Visually compelling
• Timeless and enduring
• Site specific

Site Description

The six-level, 1,100 space garage will be located at 15 SW 4th St., in a developing area of the urban core east of the new Scissortail Park named the Park Union District. The garage will serve the future Omni Convention Center Hotel and MAPS3 Convention Center, Boulevard Place (a mixed-use project in development), Chesapeake Arena, and more, as well as providing office space for parking operations. The parking garage could eventually be expanded by 300 spaces, providing the ability to increase parking as the area grows. Construction is projected to take 12 months to complete, with the timeline closely linked to construction of the Omni Hotel and the MAPS3 Convention Center.

Timeline

• Call to Artists Announced: Monday December 9, 2019
• Deadline for Artist Submissions: No Later than 4:00:00pm CST on Wednesday January 8, 2020
• Notification of Jury Results: January 17, 2020
• Deadline for Artists to accept/decline invitation to interview: January 24, 2020
• Mandatory Site Tour: February 19, 2020
• Second Jury/Finalist Interviews: March 9, 2020
• Notification of Selection: by March 10, 2020
• Contracting Period: April - May 2020
• Design development and construction drawings: May - June 2020
• Design development and materials ordering coordination: By July 1, 2020
• Installation oversight: September 15 – October 15, 2020

Selection Process

After the submission deadline, artist application materials will be screened by staff to ensure completeness of applications and conformity to the standards outlined in this Call to Artists before presentation to the selection committee. Incomplete submittals will not be considered. The committee will not be announced prior to the jury. The selection committee will be highly involved in the selection of finalists and recommendation of project award. At the first selection meeting, the committee will evaluate all submittals to produce a short-list of three finalists.

The finalists will then be invited to participate in two events:

1. a mandatory site tour during construction of the facility for a first-hand look at the design, layout and materials being used for the facility and materials and fasteners for the public art project. Artists will meet local representatives and hear about the project and relevant history. The local representatives will also familiarize the finalists with the design, materials, construction schedule, and requirements for the final selection interview.
2. an in-person presentation interview with the selection committee, where the artist will present a site specific conceptual design report and other information resulting from what was learned from the mandatory site tour. The artist may also present dimensioned sketches, renderings and/or a model of their proposed design along with other required supplementary material.

Each artist or artist team that successfully participates in both the Mandatory Site Tour and the Finalist Interviews will receive $2,000.00 to help offset costs of preparing and presenting a conceptual design report.

Selection Criteria

Artist applications will be evaluated to determine whether the artist(s) involved possess the creativity, technical skills, and discipline required for this public art project. The following four criteria are considered in the first round of the selection process:

• Artistic excellence, originality, and ability to produce a consistent body of work, as evidenced by representation of past work in images and other supporting materials
• Experience with projects of a similar scale and scope
• Appropriateness of artist’s approach and style to the project’s intent and site
• Price and current market value of artist(s)’ work in relation to the scope and value contemplated for this commission

The following five criteria are considered in the final round of the selection process:

• Availability to work within project time frame and coordinate with the general contractor and subcontractors and to be present in Oklahoma City to provide oversight during installation of the polycarbonate tiles
• Technical feasibility of proposed project design
• Good work habits: ability to meet deadlines, experience with budgeting, good communication skills, good problem-solving abilities—as supported by references
• Important consideration will also be given to timelessness and enduring quality of the design proposed
• Other criteria as may be established by the jurors.

Any additional criteria shall be outlined in the jury’s written instructions provided to artist(s) invited to compete in the second stage of the competition.

What to Submit

To fully respond to this Request for Qualifications you will be required to upload the following items prior to the 4:00:00 pm January 8, 2020 deadline established in this announcement. All document files must be in Word or PDF format. Pages documents will not be accepted: convert them to PDF. Put identifying information on each document (not images) that is submitted: your name, email at a minimum.

1. Artist Statement: The artist statement is developed by the artist who will be the principal contact and project manager. The artist will lead and manage the project. Prepare a brief letter explaining why you are the best candidate for this project. If a team, explain the team members’ roles and why your combined experience makes you the best candidates to be considered for this project.
2. Resume: Include a current professional resume for each artist, emphasizing public art experience.
3. Six Digital JPG Images for each team member: NOTE: ONLY DIGITAL (jpg) IMAGES WILL BE ACCEPTED. Include six digital images of COMPLETED WORK ONLY (NO RENDERINGS OR PROPOSALS WILL BE ACCEPTED) in .jpg format with a resolution of approximately 1800 X 1200 pixels (4”X6” at 300dpi/ppi). Images should not exceed 1800 pixels. Review your images against the Image ID Sheet to ensure that the images you submit are numbered in the same order as the information on the Image ID sheet. The six images will be reviewed by the Selection Committee. The initial committee review is “blind”, requiring that no identifying information or the artist/curator or anything but the artwork itself should appear on the images.
4. Image ID Sheet: An example Image ID Sheet is provided in the project announcement. You will create a similar form with the same information on your computer, save, and upload along with the other required documents when you submit your qualifications.

How to Submit

Proposers must register with BidSync and submit their qualifications electronically through BidSync. The City and its Trusts recommend potential proposers register and become familiar with the BidSync electronic proposal process far in advance of submitting their qualifications materials. There is no charge to the proposer for registering or submitting an electronic proposal to the City or its Trusts through BidSync. You may receive a sales call about upgrading your registration, but there is no obligation to do so for projects announced through Oklahoma City’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

First time registration in BidSync/Register for free:

1. Visit: bidsync.com/the-city-of-oklahoma-city and click on the “Register for Free” button.

2. Enter your email address twice to verify that it does not already exist in our system. Once prompted to proceed, fill in all required identification fields and agree to the Terms and Conditions for BidSync.

3. Check your inbox of the email you provided and locate the email from notify@bidsync.com. Check your spam folders if you do not see it in your inbox.

4. Click the activation link in the email with 24 hours of receiving to activate your new BidSync account. Once your token is verified you will be asked to select your account password.

5. Create a company profile to receive bid invitations from agencies. Verify your company address and follow the prompts to add 3 positive keywords so BidSync can search, locate, and deliver relevant solicitations for you. We recommend “public art” as one of the keywords.

If you have trouble with registration or uploading, contact customer service at (800) 990.9339 or support@bidsync.com.

QUESTIONS?  Contact Robbie L. Kienzle, Arts Liaison & Program Planner, Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, o:  405/297-1740  e: robbiel.kienzle@okc.gov