Qualifications and a letter of interest are requested from artists and/or artist teams interested in creating site-specific art for the new Digital Learning Center at Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah.

DEADLINE FOR PRELIMINARY MATERIAL:

APRIL 25, 2007

Project pdf files: Master plan, Building section, Floor plans: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Floor 2 Bridge, Elevations: East, West, North and South

Orem, Utah

The Population of Orem is 90,960 within 18.241 square miles at an altitude of 4,771 ASL.  The highest point in the county is atop Mr. Timpanogos at 11,749 ft.  Orem is 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.

According to CNNMoney.com Orem was a contender for one of the best places to live in 2005. There are many things that set Orem apart from other cities and towns. Orem offers its residents great schools, a thriving environment for businesses of all sizes. Orem is located amidst the majestic beauty of Mt. Timpanogos, and has local ski resorts, mountain biking trails, rock climbing, golf course, dozens of parks and places to play; and the professional baseball team the Orem OWLZ.

Utah Valley State College
http://www.uvsc.edu/

The birth of the school as a state institution was March 15, 1945, when Governor Herbert B. Maw signed a bill appropriating $50,000 to operate for the biennium of 1945-47. A second bill was introduced and adopted in 1947, making the school a permanent state institution.

In March 1953, the name of the school was changed from Central Utah Vocational School to Utah Trade Technical Institute. In March 1967, the name was again changed, this time to Utah Technical College at Provo. Enrollment growth became so immense, the Provo Campus was no longer adequate and a search for a new site began. The present site of the campus was chosen because of its landscape, excellent traffic flow, and accessibility.

Since the move to the Orem Campus, the College continued to grow. In 1987, the legislature approved a name change better reflecting the location and mission of the College, Utah Valley Community College. In 1989, the College added an International Studies Center to coordinate exchange programs, bring international students on campus, and assist in giving faculty exchange opportunities. During this same period, Utah Valley Community College became one of the first community colleges in the United States to sign an exchange agreement with Soviet Russia. Exchange agreements were also reached with Central America and Caribbean countries,

China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Germany.

On July 1, 1993, the Board of Regents changed the name of the College to Utah Valley State College, and UVSC was given provisional accreditation by Northwest Accrediting Association to offer four-year degree programs. At the same time, UVSC became the first U.S. institution to receive accreditation for programs offered in the former Soviet Union. On December 14, 1995, the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges granted full accreditation for all programs offered by the College, including the Baccalaureate programs. 

Digital Learning Center and Building Use

http://www.uvsc.edu/library/newlibrary/index.html
(in-depth project site with plans and webcams)

The design-build team of Layton Construction, with Cooper Roberts Simonsen Architects and New-York-based Alspector Architecture, is building this new collegiate library for Utah Valley State College (UVSC).  The library, or digital learning center, will be the focal point for the academic quad that will one day anchor the north end of campus.  Completion of this new library will be a key step in UVSC¹s progress towards university status.  The new building will be a signature piece of architecture for the campus and the community.  While respecting campus materials and preferences, it will also develop a new vocabulary appropriate to the iconic nature and academic primacy of its mission for the campus as a whole.

Design of the new library has led to rethinking the master plan for the north end of campus.  The new plan places the library as the focal point at the end of a new main public entry to campus from the west.  A group of buildings, including the proposed performing arts center, will surround a large quad, which will be animated by diagonal crossings, terraced steps, serpentine planters, open lawns, and bermed landscaped areas.  Almost half of this future quad will be developed to serve as the front door for this project. 

The new library will still connect with the continuous concourse throughout the UVSC campus, but for the new quad, indoor connections will be elevated and attached to the second floor of the building, allowing on-grade access to the main floor of the buildings and quad under what will one day be a series of bridge portals.

The building and site designs foster views to the mountains to the north and east and to the lake on the west.  Special two-story reading rooms located on the northeast corner and the west face of the building on the fourth and fifth floors take advantage of these spectacular views.  With a large information commons, café, and reference area on the ground floor, the building will be a hub of campus life.  A generous area of this floor and the one above will be dedicated to extended hours or 24/7 study. 

Upper floors will house media, periodicals, archives, and the general collection. Students and Faculty will have access to dozens of group study rooms, library instruction spaces, labs, and seminar rooms.  All told, the facility will be able to accommodate almost 2,000 user seats, including study carrels and tables in and around stack areas, and close to 300,000 volumes, or enough to accommodate growth of the library¹s collection over the next 15 to 20 years.  The building also includes a 150-seat auditorium.

This new library is the first building to participate in the High Performance Building program developed by the state energy manager for new state-owned facilities.  The building design takes maximum advantage of recent advances in high-performance solar-control glazing and high-efficiency lighting and cooling technology.  Other sustainable measures incorporated into the project include:

• Sun shades/solar harvesting devices on south and west exposures to control heat gain and enhance daylighting,
• Direct/indirect evaporative cooling
• Air-side economizers and heat rejection to the campus heating loop for computer room air conditioning units
• Ultra-high efficiency ballasts and lamps with daylight switching and occupancy sensors
• Light-colored roofing to reduce building heat load and urban heat island
• Waste reduction during construction
• Materials with recycled content
• Materials with low VOC levels and no urea formaldehyde to minimize off-gassing and improve indoor air quality
• Construction Indoor Air Quality protocols to improve indoor air quality at occupancy.

The building exterior will be open and welcoming, with wide expanses of glazing.  Materials express the function of what is going on within.  Feature elements expressed on the exterior punctuate internal landmarks including major horizontal and vertical circulation routes.  Some of these elements are pulled out from the regular geometry of the main building envelope like books from a bookshelf.  Other elements are sculptural shapes with complementary geometries attached to the orthogonal grid of the main. Pyramid skylights over two-story space accentuate the most significant of these features.

The Digital Learning Center (DLC) will be a 190,000 square foot facility on five levels. The existing library at the Learning Resource Center will relocate to this building once constructed. The name “Digital Learning Center” is used to indicate the changing focus of libraries and their greater use of electronic media in addition to print. The building is envisioned as a hub for the sharing of information by students and faculty. It is intended to be open extended hours (early morning to late night) and will be used by both the campus community and the public at large. The DLC is to be a part of the student experience with appropriate exterior pedestrian connections and improvements and an architectural design relating to the campus design with appropriate public exposure.

Art Selection Committee Statement:

The need for this new library has grown and will continue to increase as the College adds undergraduate and graduate degree programs to its offerings.  UVSC President Bill Sederburg hopes to offer the school’s first master's degree in teacher education by 2009.

It is the intent of the committee to commission art for this new facility that is part of the College focus on modern, contemporary culture and media.  It is our hope, as our student constituents learn and look to the future that this facility and the art incorporated into it will enhance and inspire the student and the University community explorations.

The committee, in cooperation with the architect, has identified the following areas that may be appropriate for public art:  The inset panels in the spandrel covering much of the exterior building walls, the open roof of the cafeteria, the two-story interior walls (25’) in the lobby opposite the auditorium entrance and other similar tall circulation areas and the exterior area west of the new building (in harmony with future buildings on the campus master plan.)  This listing, however, does not preclude the committee from considering proposals for different sites proposed by the artist.  The committee may consider multiple sites within the overall budget.

Budget

$313,000 is available for all related expenses of this Public Art commission(s) including (but not limited to) artist fees, engineering, fabrication, insurance, shipping, travel, installation, documentation, etc.

Eligibility

Resident American or legal resident artists / artist teams are encouraged to apply.  Employees of the contracted architectural firm, and non-resident artists are not eligible to submit qualifications.   Artists residing in Illinois are not eligible due to Utah statute that requires artists considered for Utah commissions live in states where Utah artists are also able to apply for public art commissions.

Required materials & conditions regarding submittals

Artists wishing to be considered must submit a complete application.   Incomplete and/or late applications cannot be accepted. 

• All written material should be on white, single sided, un-stapled, and un-bound
  8 ½” x 11” paper

• We do not have color photocopy capability.  If you expect the committee to view color within your materials before the review meeting you should include ten copies of the color portion.
  
• Nothing over 8 ½” x 11” can be accepted for this phase.

• Faxed or e-mailed applications cannot be accepted.

The Utah Arts Council cannot be responsible for applications lost in transit.  While all reasonable care will be taken in the handling of materials, neither the Utah Arts Council nor the Utah Valley State College Art Selection Committee will be liable for late, lost or damaged materials.  We strongly suggest originals or one-of-a-kind material not be submitted for this preliminary phase.

All applications must include the following:

• A letter of interest not more than three typewritten pages. This letter should include the artist’s reasons for interest in this project in particular.  In doing so, the artist should also describe how his/her work and experience relates to the project. 
  
• CD (PC format,) or DVD of up to10 images DIGITAL IMAGES: Images should be sent on virus-free PC-compatible CD-ROM in .jpg file format.  Each file should be named with artist surname and image number to correspond with annotated image list.  Maximum image size should be no more than 300dpi and no larger than 1024 x 768 pixel resolution or DVD (of no more than 3minutes) or VHS (of no more that 3 minutes cued to the point you wish the committee to view) are also acceptable media as documentation of artist’s projects and work created for public spaces

- OR -

• Slide documentation of previous work that represent site-specific artwork and/or design projects on which the artist was a team member. Up to ten (10) slides in 35mm format with 2" x 2" paper or plastic mounts of applicable work labeled with artist' s name and identification number (for ID sheet.)  Indicate on the slide the top of the image. Slides should be submitted in a 9" x 11" clear plastic slide file sheet.

• An identification sheet must accompany documentation.  This sheet should include title, year, medium, dimensions

• A professional resume (do not staple or double side resume.)

• An addressed and stamped envelope of ample size for return of documentation.  Material that is not accompanied by a stamped envelope cannot be returned.
  

Deadline

Complete application packages must be RECEIVED on or before April 25, 2007 by 5 p.m. (THIS IS NOT A POSTMARK DEADLINE) All supporting materials must accompany application. Incomplete and/or late applications will not be accepted. Faxed or e-mailed applications cannot be accepted.

Please send, deliver or courier applications to:

Utah Public Art Program
Attention: UVSC Digital Learning Center Project
Utah Arts Council
617 East South Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84102

Selection Process and Schedule

The Selection Committee will review qualifications. A short list of semi-finalists will then be selected and invited to interview and submit a more in depth proposal and maquette to the committee.  A small honorarium will be extended to the finalists. The honorarium will be applied toward the commission amount for the artist(s) awarded the commission. Final selection(s) will be made from the semi-finalists. The proposed schedule follows:

            April 25, 2007                         Deadline for receipt of artist material

            May 16-17, 2007                     Committee reviews qualifications

            July 25, 2007                           Finalist presentation and interview 

            July/August 2008                     Installation complete

Art Selection Committee

Michael J. Freeman                Director, UVSC Library
Hyunmee Lee                          Artist, and Professor of Art, UVSC
David McKay                           Division of Facilities Construction and Mgmt., Project Manager
Bruce McDonough                  Layton Construction
James L. Michaelis                 Associate Vice President Facilities Planning, UVSC
Jim Nielson                             Architect, CRS Architects
Val Peterson                           VP of Administration and External Affairs, UVSC
Kimberly Rollins                      Assistant Director, UVSC Library
Alex Schiel                              Architect and Utah Arts Council Board of Directors
Marcus Vincent                       Director, Woodbury Gallery, UVSC
Frank Young                            Space Development, UVSC

If you have any questions contact:
Jim Glenn at 801-533-3585 or e-mail at: jglenn@utah.gov
Fletcher Booth at 801-533-3586 or e-mail at: fbooth@utah.gov