Due: May 9, 2014
The four underpasses that connect the east and west sides of the NoMa neighborhood are heavily trafficked and rather unremarkable. Like most spaces under a bridge, these areas are dark and uninviting to pedestrians and motorists. The NoMa Parks Foundation wants to change that.
The group announced today that they are seeking an artist, team, designer or architect to transform these four underpasses into “art parks,” which “will beautify, enliven and activate” these spaces. (The foundation may select one artist to do all four or a different artist for each one, according to Carrie Cook from Art 4 Business.) A Request for Qualifications doesn’t specify exactly what the foundation is looking for, leaving the door open for a number of possibilities and ideas.
“With this enormously exciting project, we envision each NoMa underpass not only becoming an inspiring and engaging space but, together, they will comprise a signature moment in NoMa,” Charles (Sandy) Wilkes, Chairman of the NoMa Parks Foundation Board of Directors, said in a release.
Cook, whose employer is assisting the foundation with the project, points to other underpass projects that have utilized lights, murals, and tiles: “It can really be anything.”
Artist Bill FitzGibbons, for example, used light in a really fantastic way for an underpass project in Alabama. Reflective fish decals were considered for an underpass in Philadelphia.
RFQs must be submitted by May 9. A winner or winners will be selected in September and installation could begin in 2015. The budget for all four underpasses is $1.75 million.
(via dcist.com)