RFP: Italianate Garden Seating Element Design

ITALIANATE GARDEN SE ATING ELEMENT DESIGN COMPETITION

Lucas Artists Residency Program, Montalvo Arts Center

S A L L Y & D O N L U C A S A R T I S T S R E S I D E N C Y P R O G R A M 15400 Montalvo Road Saratoga, California 95070

REQUEST-FOR-PROPOSALS

The Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program [LAP] seeks proposals for a

permanent seating installation located in Montalvo Arts Center’s Italianate Garden.

Reflecting Montalvo’s ongoing support for forward-thinking innovative design, the

project will respond to Montalvo’s unique Mediterranean-inspired historic grounds, as

well as its role in fostering contemporary art practice.

Montalvo Arts Center was built in 1912 by James Duval Phelan, three-term mayor of San

Francisco and California's first popularly elected senator. Montalvo is one of Silicon

Valley's most important cultural assets and among the nation's greatest architectural

treasures. Senator Phelan spoke of Santa Clara County as "a cradle of future American

arts." Upon his death in 1930, he left the estate to the people of California for the

development of art, literature, music, and architecture. Today, Montalvo is a vibrant,

multidisciplinary arts center featuring a ten-acre artist residency complex, two theaters, a

gallery, a historic Villa and outbuildings, and a 175-acre park with hiking trails and

formal gardens. Each year 200,000 people come to enjoy Montalvo’s park; view the

works of local, national, and international visual artists; attend a wide range of

performing arts events; and participate in education and outreach programs.

Key to our mission is The Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program [LAP] which

is designed to offer local, national, and international artists from a range of disciplines an

environment conducive to individual and collaborative creative practice. The LAP seeks

to support the development of new and challenging contemporary work as well as the

energetic exchange of ideas across varied artistic fields, scholarly disciplines, and cultural

perspectives. Located in the heart of the Silicon Valley, the LAP is particularly interested

in supporting artists eager to develop their practice through experimentation, questioning

and risk-taking, all essential ingredients for artistic innovation and personal growth. The

LAP is situated on the grounds of the Montalvo Arts Center, and housed in 11

contemporary architect/artist designed, discipline specific studios and a commons

building

In upholding the residency’s prominent role at Montalvo, we develop programming in

response to themes explored by the Lucas Artists Residency Program that leverage the

arts as a gateway for shared investigation into the concerns of our times. Through

exhibitions in the Project Space Gallery, site-specific Art on the Grounds commissions,

and a robust collection of related multidisciplinary programs, LAP Fellows respond to the

given thematic with works that are conceived, developed, and/or completed while in

residence. Many are participatory and include educational elements, interactive activities,

and public workshops that make visible the creative process.




PROJECT DETAILS

Montalvo seeks proposals for an innovative seating element that will provide an “end-

cap” to the Historic Italianate Garden. This seating element will act as a place from which

to view the garden, a resting spot for visitors, and at time a gathering area for small

groups. The seating element will be situated in the lower portion of the Italianate Garden,

at the end of the Phelan Cactus Garden, just beyond David Middlebrook’s sculpture

Broken Wing, (2004).

The selected seating installation will replace the existing concrete benches that are

currently in this area. The proposed project should accommodate seating for at least 12

people. The seating element will be installed permanently.

The successful proposal will respond thoughtfully both to the historic and contemporary

histories of the Montalvo Art Center and will represent Montalvo’s ongoing support for

forward-thinking and innovative design.

The project budget is $13,000 (all inclusive).

SITE CONSIDERATIONS

The Italianate Garden sits on a hill raised above two access roads. It is delineated by a

fence that encircles the Garden. The project site is located at the base of the garden and is

accessible via a gravel footpath. The site is not graded or landscaped. The project may

necessitate building on site. The site is approximately 20 feet wide and 25 feet long.




RFP ANNOUNCEMENT 20 May, 2014

SUBMISSION DEADLINE 22 July, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNER 20 August, 2014

PROJECT DVELOPMENT AND FABRICATION September, 2014 to March, 2015

SITE INSTALLATION March, 2015

REGISTRATION

Once the Request For Proposals has been announced, Designers and Artists have until

July 24st, to submit proposals. Proposals will be submitted through SlideRoom at a

submission cost of $30 per application. To submit, please visit:

https://montalvoarts.slideroom.com/ - /permalink/program/20869.

DESIGN & JUDGING CRITERIA

The successful project will creatively activate a currently under-utilized area of the

Italianate Garden at Montalvo Art Center. We are looking for proposals that are visually

interesting and innovative, and successfully combine forward-thinking design with

functionality. The proposal should respond thoughtfully to the historic and contemporary

histories of the Montalvo Art Center. It should also be feasible given available resources.

The designer/artist should be based in the San Francisco Bay Area, or willing to spend

time in the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency during the installation of the work.

Ideally he or she will be able to demonstrate their ability to successfully work at this

scale.

A successful proposal will detail the designer/artist’s vision for the site and make clear

how the seating installations relates to the existing landscape and architectural elements

of the Montalvo Arts Center.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

LETTER OF INTENT: Describes project vision. We are interested in your creative

process and how your artistic vision will engage the particular site and the larger garden

space. (One page maximum)

PROJECT PROPOSAL Project details will include core concept as well as production

timeline, and specifications on scale, materials, fabrication, and installation. (One page

maximum)

WORK SAMPLE Cite relevant and/or recent experience. Please include a work sample

checklist with Title, Dimensions, Materials, and Year; all samples must be sufficiently

labeled.

CURRICULUM VITAE

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

https://montalvoarts.slideroom.com/#/permalink/program/20869




SUBMISSION PROCESS

Proposals will be submitted through the Montalvo Arts Center portal of Slideroom

[www.montalvoarts.slideroom.com]. Hardcopies will not be accepted.

JURY

The project jury will consist of three friends of the Lucas Artist Residency Program:

Paul Belotti

Paul Belotti is an interior designer and architect based in Saratoga, California.

He received his MArch from the University of Washington and BArch from the

University of California, Berkeley.

For 25 years Paul has designed homes within the greater San Francisco Bay Area that are

in keeping with the latest trends in aesthetics and prized by clientele for the design's

effortlessness. He approaches each project individually with an eye for detail and an

appreciation for the interaction between his clients and their use of space. Both palette

and materials define work that is simultaneously functional and marked in form.

Paul represents Montalvo Art Center’s Buildings & Grounds Committee, on which he has

sat for the previous three years.

David Middlebrook

David Middlebrook is an artist who traces his roots to ceramics and who has evolved to

become a professional sculptor specializing in site-specific work, public and private

commissions, and smaller sculptural elements. He accepted a teaching position at San

Jose State University in 1974, relocated to California, and has maintained a studio in the

hills of Los Gatos ever since. Over the last 20 years, David Middlebrook as evolved as an

artist and has become a master of materials. His work today involves a broad range of

stone marble and bronze and dimensions from 50 lbs. to 50 tons. He has established

himself as a specialist in large-scale site-specific work. These projects have fostered

collaborations with architects, design professionals, developers and contractors. He has

completed approximately 50 public and private works of this nature, many of which were

nationally-awarded competition commissions.

David Hisaya Asari

David Hisaya Asari design experience ranges from information graphics, exhibition

design, environmental design, and wayfinding systems to identity, branding, corporate

communications, editorial design, annual reports, books, catalogs, and packaging. David

has worked with a range of clients, including Design Within Reach, AICAD, San

Francisco Free Clinic, University of Southern California, the Museum of Glass,

University of Michigan Business School, Ansel Adams Center for Photography,

McGeorge School of Law, and the San José Institute of Contemporary Art. His projects

have been recognized in major design competitions and publications, including New

York Art Directors Club, AIGA, Critique, Western Art Directors Club, One Club, and

Graphis. David is on the board of AIGA San Francisco. In his role as a director, he serves

as president, and diversity intiative chair.




AWARDS

The winning proposal will receive a $2,000 award from the LAP.

CONTACT

Kelly Sicat

Director of Lucas Artist Residency Program

1.408.961.5812

[email protected]

RFP: Italianate Garden Seating Element Design

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