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RFQ submission deadline:
June 4, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. (EST)
University of Rhode Island
Medicinal & Wellness Garden for the College of Pharmacy
Kingston, Rhode Island
Budget: $500,000
Artwork for the College of Pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus (URI) will be commissioned through Rhode Island’s Public Art Law, which mandates that 1% of all state capital construction and renovation funds be allocated to the purchase and maintenance of public art. Through this program the State recognizes that “public art creates a more humane environment: one of distinction, enjoyment, and pride for all citizens.”
This art commission will be for the design and construction of a Medicinal and Wellness Garden.
ABOUT THE INSTITUTION:
The University of Rhode Island began in 1888 as the Rhode Island State Agricultural School. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892, and graduated the first class of 17 members two years later. In 1909, the name of the college was changed to Rhode Island State College, and the program of study was revised and expanded. In 1951 the college became the University of Rhode Island by an act of the General Assembly. The Board of Governors for Higher Education appointed by the governor became the governing body of the University in 1981.
Today, the University has three satellite campuses but this first site remains the largest and busiest. Located in the historic village of Kingston, URI’s main campus is 1,200-acres showcasing both a mix of handsome ivy-covered buildings and contemporary architecture, and serving over 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Over 60% of URI students are Rhode Islanders. The average degree-seeking undergraduate is 22 years old, but 12% of students are 25 or older. The most popular undergraduate major is Nursing, followed by Communication Studies, Psychology, Pharmacy, and Human Development and Family Studies.
URI’s website defines the school as "the State’s public learner-centered research university and a community joined in a common quest for knowledge. The University is committed to enriching the lives of its students through its land, sea, and urban grant traditions. URI is the only public institution in Rhode Island offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students the distinctive educational opportunities of a major research university. Our undergraduate, graduate, and professional education, research, and outreach serve Rhode Island and beyond. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni are united in one common purpose: to learn and lead together. Embracing Rhode Island’s heritage of independent thought, we value: Creativity and Scholarship; Diversity, Fairness, and Respect; Engaged Learning and Civic Involvement; and Intellectual and Ethical Leadership."
ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
The new North District, where the Medicinal and Wellness Garden will be located, is a place for life sciences and health-related studies at URI. The new 130,000 SF College of Pharmacy Building is currently under construction and will house classrooms, offices, research labs, and community social spaces. Payette Associates of Boston, MA has designed the building to have many “green” and energy efficient features meeting LEED Silver® standards.
The building will allow the College of Pharmacy to further its role in URI’s commitment to research-based and experiential learning in health and life science education. The new technology-rich and interactive spaces for students and faculty will help to strengthen URI's learning-centered and team-based approach to pharmacy education. The interface with students and faculty researchers of other disciplines and will help facilitate and prepare graduates for positive life-long contributions to global health.
This development is creating new campus spaces within the North District and represents a significant move forward for the science departments. The $60 million pharmacy building is the second major component of the campus district and has a great impact on shaping campus spaces around it. It strengthens an existing north/south pedestrian walkway on its west side, develops a major new quadrangle to the north, links the North District with an arboretum to the east, and frames the proposed new Medicinal & Wellness Garden to the south (see attached site plan).
The College of Pharmacy is oriented perpendicular to the existing Tyler and Woodward Halls, and connects all three buildings in a “C” form around a new garden courtyard. This south-facing courtyard is the site of the commission. Woodward Hall is the home of URI’s department of Nutrition & Food Science, with offices overlooking the planned garden. This new courtyard is sloped down toward the new College of Pharmacy, and will be highly visible from the three “neighborhood” lounges at different levels within the building.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The new Medicinal & Wellness Garden will be a strong component of URI’s approach to learner-centered education. It will feature an educational display of medicinal plants, herbal plants, and spices and also function as a conservatory source of standard specimens. The garden will aid in the study of pharmacognosy and help illustrate sources of plant-derivative drugs. Beyond serving as a botanical resource, the garden will inspire the visitor to explore man’s relationship to nature and the natural environment’s role in human wellbeing. The garden will be a unique work of art, a landscape that engages science, nature, aesthetics, and human spirit.
The new garden will replace and relocate plants from existing Heber W. Youngken Medicinal Garden, established in 1958 adjacent to Fogarty Hall on the Kingston Campus. The existing garden has functioned as an educational display of medicinal plants, herbs, and spices and a conservatory source of standard specimens. The brick pathways which crisscrossed the ¼ acre formal style garden provided easy access for visitors to examine the labeled plants. A list of medicinal plants in the current medicinal garden can be referenced at:
http://www.uri.edu/pharmacy/garden/plantlist.shtml
1. Other issues include:The site encompasses approximately 15,275 sf. The scope of the Work includes the design and installation of all permanent landscaping, the initial seasonal medicinal garden plantings (including existing plants transferred from the existing garden), additional medicinal garden development as defined by the accepted design-build plan, all surface materials and related substrate preparation, walkways, paths, planting beds, sculpture, walls, and other artistic structures, surface and subsurface site drainage systems leading to existing storm drainage systems, site lighting within the garden, irrigation or other water systems required to sustain plantings. The scope will include all labor related to the artist’s installation, permit fees, equipment, supervision, testing services, RI engineer’s stamp, and all other costs incurred in the delivery of the finished installation.
2. Handicapped accessibility and wheelchair access is important and the garden must be able to be experienced by sight and mobility impaired. ADA requirements apply to the final commissioned work.
3. The Work should demonstrate environmentally sensitive landscape design. Water management is a key element, and the accepted design will demonstrate good management of storm water drainage to avoid erosion or adverse water retention in planting areas. Rainwater is available from roof surfaces and its storage and use for irrigation is encouraged.
4. Durability and sustainability of the Work is very important and the college is committed to keeping the new Medicinal Garden maintained. However, there will not be a dedicated gardening staff to oversee its care – the maintenance if the garden will be carried out by faculty, students, and URI’s Master Gardener Program: http://www.uri.edu/ce/ceec/mastergardener.html Thus designs with elaborate maintenance requirements should be avoided.
5. The Work should include artistic sculptural or structural components that can be viewed from the neighboring buildings, as well as experienced within the garden. It should have year-round aesthetic interest, especially in the winter months when plants are dormant or temporarily removed to greenhouses.
6. In order to integrate the College of Pharmacy’s research and educational needs within the garden design, the design process must be participatory with representatives of the college and responsive to their requirements.
INTENT OF THE RFQ AND SCOPE OF WORK
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
Please note: This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is the first step in the URI public art selection process.
RISCA will conduct the URI Public Art application process online, with all materials submitted in digital format through CaFÉ (see below). There is no charge to the artist for applying or for submitting digital images. At this preliminary selection stage, we are requesting submissions from artists or art teams consisting of six (6) images representing current work (completed within the past five years), resumes, and very brief descriptions of potential site-specific proposals. If an artist wants to apply as an individual as well as part of a team, two separate CaFÉ profiles and two separate CaFÉ applications must be completed (i.e., one application submission for you and one application submission for your team). Applications consisting of six images, answers to designated questions, and resumes will be reviewed by the URI Public Art Selection Panel to assess the quality and appropriateness of the artist's work, interest in their proposal idea, and the artist’s ability to carry out a substantial public art commission.
Applicants are asked only to provide a short description of their proposal for artwork at the site along with a rough outline of expenses for the design and construction totaling no more than $500,000. Three finalists will be selected from the pool of RFQ applicants and those finalists will craft detailed proposals including an itemized budget, scale models and renderings, and an in-depth project description. For this they will each be paid an honorarium of $2,500. This stipend includes all travel expenses: hotel, transportation, mileage, etc., for both the site visit and the subsequent presentation meeting. Finalists will not be reimbursed separately for any travel costs.
No slides or hard copy materials will be accepted for this call. First time CaFÉ applicants must allow enough time to prepare their CaFÉ formatted digital images and electronic submission prior to the deadline. CaFÉ surveys have shown that it takes approximately 2-4 hours to prepare images and submit an online application, dependent on a variety of factors.
Each application must be submitted via the CaFÉ (tm) web site (www.callforentry.org) and must include:
ESTIMATED TIMELINE:
June 4, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) Deadline for submissions
Late-June 2010: panel meeting for selection of semifinalists
July 2010: Artist notification
September 2010 (TBA): Finalist site visits
October 2010 (TBA): Finalist presentations to selection panel
November, 2010: Final approval by RISCA Council
tba: Contract signed
tba: Work installed and completed
According to law, final recommendations of the selection panel will be presented to the governing council of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts who will have final approval of the public art selection.
Finalists’ site-specific proposals should convey artists' ideas and plans through designs, renderings and/or scale models with a statement that describes the project's intent, proposed materials, fabrication and installation methods, and an itemized budget. Artists chosen as finalists are also asked to explain how their artwork will be sourced and fabricated. The finalists will be supplied with plans, photographs, and specific information about the College of Pharmacy and the URI campus. A site visit as well as a meeting with the architect and the URI administration will be scheduled for the finalists. An honorarium of $2,500 will be awarded to the finalists following presentation of their proposals. The proposals will remain the property of the artist. However, RISCA reserves the right to retain proposals for up to one year for display purposes and the right to reproduce final proposals for documentation and public information purposes.
The Public Art Selection Panel reserves the right to determine which proposal will be funded and the extent of funding. The panel also reserves the right to not accept any final proposal submitted. If the recommendations of the Public Art Selection Panel are approved by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the selected artist/s will enter into contract with the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts for the selected commission. The accepted artwork will be owned and maintained by the State of Rhode Island.SELECTION CRITERIA:
The panel will select the artist based on the following criteria:
ARTIST ELIGIBILITY:
This call is open to all artists. Applications may be submitted individually or in collaboration with others. The panel will not discriminate against any applicant artist on the basis of age, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or physical challenges. Excluded from participation are RISCA Council members, staff and their family members as well as Public Art Selection Panel members and their families.
If you have questions about the RFQ, email Elizabeth Keithline: Elizabeth@arts.ri.gov. If you require technical support for CAFÉ, please email cafe@westaf.org
