Call to Artists: Fire Station 78 Due: April 3, 2014
The City of Tamarac, Florida, seeks an artist or team to create an artwork on the facade and/or atop the new Fire Station 78 located west of Fort Lauderdale and adjacent to the Florida Turnpike. The artwork will reflect the spirit of the Tamarac fire service and succeed artistically at both day and night next to an 8-lane wide intersection. Based on recent work and experience, up to 5 artists will be selected and paid $1,500 to develop and present a design proposal in May. The winning artist will be awarded a $100,000 contract and must be available to work with the architects in June and July. Applications are due on April 3, 2014 and open to all professional artists in North America with experience working with public agencies and architects. Apply through callforentry.org.
Artwork Scope:
The City of Tamarac, Florida, seeks an artist or artist team to create an artwork on the facade and/or atop the new Fire Station 78 located west of Fort Lauderdale and adjacent to the Florida Turnpike. The artwork will reflect the spirit of the Tamarac fire service and succeed artistically at both day and night next to an 8-lane wide intersection. The City anticipates that the facade will be around 22 feet tall, 50-100 feet long and made of concrete, not concrete block. The address is 4801 West Commercial Boulevard, Tamarac, FL 33319.
The site presents unique opportunities and challenges. Ten of thousands of vehicles enter and exit the Florida Turnpike daily and many sit for minutes in front of the station waiting for the traffic lights. Very few pedestrians use the sidewalks or approach the Fire Station on foot. Therefore the new public artwork must succeed at visual distances of 50 to 300 feet.
The top of facade appears as a priority due to required street trees and the clear view the sky caused by the low apartments behind the site. At night, site and sky is extremely dark creating a surprising opportunity for an illuminated artwork. A space of approximately 12 feet will likely be available between the top of the facade and the maximum zoning height of 35 feet.
The facade faces south-southwest in the full sun most of the day. An opportunity exists for 3-D forms or facade textures with dark shadows. Any artwork must be able to resist the sun’s ultraviolet light.
A hose tower is a traditional element of a fire station that is no longer required to dry hoses. For its symbolic value, the possibility of an attached tower as the public art project is welcome. Overall, artwork must be durable for the humid Florida climate, UV light resistant and low maintenance. The scope of work includes a certification by a Florida engineer as hurricane resistant as per the South Florida Building Code.
Tamarac Fire Rescue Department and the Public Art Project
The Public Art Committee in consultation with the Tamarac Fire Rescue Department wishes that the artwork help to identify the new fire station as a fire station both day and night. Fire Station 78 will have 24 hour staffing with 8 firefighters per shift. The garage doors and vehicles will face the side street and not be visible from Commercial Blvd.
The artwork should respond to or reflect the mission and history of firefighters and paramedics. The Tamarac Fire Chief ( who has positive experience with public art ) suggested a few important symbols of the fire service in general: Maltese cross, tolling of the bells, helmets, dalmatians, St. Florian, and brass playpipes. Other historic images include house sirens, brass firehouse poles and a hose tower. The Maltese Cross has many interpretations, but frequently is sighted to represent the principles of charity, loyalty, gallantry, generosity to friend and foe, dexterity of service, and protection of the weak. The Tolling of the Bells began during the age of the telegraph. When a firefighter is honored after falling in the line of duty, a bell is used to sound five measured dashes - then a pause - then five measured dashes - then a pause - then five more measured dashes. St. Florian is the patron saint of firefighters. He was an ancient Roman officer that organized fire brigades.
Fire Station 78 exists today as one of three stations with a total service of 102 firefighters. The replacement fire station will continue to serve eastern Tamarac and parts of the Florida Turnpike. A new element of the replacement station will be a small triage area to assist the occasional injured person that is driven to the station by friends or family.
Design-Build Contracting and Artist Coordination
The new fire station will be developed through a Design-Build contracting system. The competing contractors will submit pricing and simple schematic designs in April 2014. The specifications for all the bidders require that the Commercial Blvd facade be reserved for the public art project and that no roof elements or lighting be visible from the street. The schematic design will be available to the selected artists developing proposals. The final winning artist will work with the City and the Design-Build contractor to finalize the schematic integration of the artwork with the building in June and July before the City signs a final contract with the Design-Build contractor. The ability and experience in collaboration with architects is important.
Art Project Budget
The total artist fee established for the Tamarac Fire Station 78 Call to Public Artists is $100,000. The budget includes all costs: i.e. research, community and agency meeting costs, design drawings and/or maquette, engineering, permit documents, fabrication, shipping, installation, materials, photography, travel and sales tax.
Artist Eligibility
The Tamarac Fire Station 78 Call to Public Artists is open to all North American professional artists, designers and teams with experience creating public art projects with public agencies. The artist must be able to effectively work within the project timeline and collaborate with Design-Build contractor, multiple governmental agencies, community groups, City staff, fabricators and the Public Art Committee.
Anticipated Art Project Schedule (Calendar)
Deadline for Submittals*:11:59 PM MST, Thursday, April 3, 2014 (uploaded to callforentry.org )
Shortlisting for Design Proposals: April 15, 2014
Notification: By April 18, 2014Design Proposals Due: May 22, 2014
Interviews if Required: Week of June 3, 2014
Notice of Award: June 24, 2014
Design Negotiations with Architect and City: June & July, 2014
Installation of Artwork: Late 2015 or early 2016.
*Incomplete project submissions will not be reviewed.
**The committee reserves the right to not recommend an award of the commission if the submissions are deemed unsatisfactory.
Artist Services and Contract
The following services will be required of the artist:
Integration of artwork proposals with design-build contractor designs and specifications in June & July, 2014
Design development and modifications with drawings and/or models sufficient to secure to approval of the Public Art Committee and the City Commission.
Coordination of artist’s construction documents with design-build contractor construction and permit documents
Construction documents signed by a Florida engineer
Fabrication and delivery of artwork***
Installation of artwork***
Completion of the project on time and within the budget
Timely coordination and communication with City of Tamarac staff
Community Interaction – Lecture
*** The City recognizes that part or all of the artwork may be integrated into the building such that the design-build contractor provides these services to the artist.
The following will be required in the contract
Hold the City of Tamarac Harmless
Liability and other insurance
Must register copyright with US Government
Selection Process
The Tamarac Public Art Committee manages the application process and will recommend the selected artist to the City Commission, with the assistance of arts professionals and City staff. All submitted complete applications will be reviewed. Three to five artists will be awarded a $1,500 fee for develop an artwork proposal and present it to the Public Art Committee. The Committee will award the final contract based on its evaluation of the artwork proposal, experience of artist and references.
Application Process
All application must be made through the CaFE online application system on Westaf.com. The application is FREE. No Charge. www.callforentry.org After log-in, click on "Apply to Calls" and find "Fire Station 78".
Deadline: 11:59 PM, MST, Thursday, April 3, 2014
1. Artist Statement: A maximum 2000 character text ( around 300 words) should state your interest in the project, team members and highlights of relevant past experience including working with architects. Paste into text box at www.callforentry.org application.
2. Resume(s): Uploaded in pdf format of the artist, designer or team
3. Image Files: Submit 15 images of relevant and recent past work.
Optional Image Information: If you feel that the automatic information provided by CaFE is not sufficient, you may upload additional text about your past projects.
Questions
Questions about Project (Email only) No phone calls please
Contact: Glenn Weiss
Email: publicart@tamarac.org or tamarac@glennweiss.com
Tamarac, Florida
Tamarac is a unique city that has been built through a strong and dedicated community spirit, good land use planning and prudent management of municipal resources. Since its incorporation in 1963, Tamarac has prospered and grown into a full service city. Tamarac is 12 square miles located in central Broward County. The approximate population of the City is 60,000. The City of Tamarac constantly strives to meet the needs and improve the health, welfare and safety of its residents. Tamarac prides itself on being a government that is responsive to its residents and is “Committed to Excellence….Always.”