RFQ- Underpass Placemaking & Lighting Installation

About the Area
Pasadena’s Shaw Avenue District was a vibrant center for social activity and commerce. Though, as is the story in many Cities, it became desolate and blighted due to the installation of the route 225 highway. The highway, while serving its purpose for the region to carry thousands of vehicles, had the unintended consequences of cutting off that vibrant center from the rest of the City. With that, the tone and trajectory of the area changed. With heavy industry in the backyard, coupled with less on-street visibility and difficulty enticing shoppers to traverse the freeway access road, the area settled as a quiet industrial fringe. Many commercial buildings were vacated and boarded up, truck yards set up shop, and a few light industry businesses took up in the inexpensive space. Not everyone left though. Despite the highway, despite the saturation of light industry, despite the benign state of the buildings and the sleepiness of the neighborhood- locals are committed and ready for change. Change that restores vibrancy and encourages creative uses of vacant buildings.

To date, the City and its public partners have invested over $2M in infrastructure upgrades and will be investing another $1.6M in pedestrian amenities to the area. At the same time, the economic development agency has piloted a mural project to bring new energy to the area.

About the Project

The City’s economic development office continues to on achieving two widely held community priorities: 1) enhance the visual appeal of the City & build a community identity and 2) reinvigorate the Shaw Avenue area north of 225. To achieve this, resources have been allocated to select infrastructure improvements and removing barriers to develop creative infill and adaptive reuse projects in the City’s northside.
A small group of committed private building owners in the Shaw District have identified challenges to reviving the area. Most significant among them, the Shaw district is disconnected from the rest of the City and the available free parking is poorly lit and encourages unwanted activities.
To address these challenges the PEDC wishes to engage an artist team to create a permanent placemaking and light installation project.

Project Location
The project will be installed under SH 225, spanning three intersections occupying approximately 77K square feet.

Project Goals
The PEDC has the goals of:
1. Enhanced Quality of Life for Pasadena citizens through provision of public art.
2. Create a critical link providing stronger connectivity between the Shaw Avenue District and the rest of the City.
3. Discouraging unwanted behaviors by improve the lighting and overall safety of the area.

Project Constraints City staff has identified opportunity areas for the placement of the lighted public art. These opportunity areas are preliminary, and the City is open to similar locations proposed by artists. However, some restrictions the artist should be aware of include the following: a) Maintaining the Structural Integrity of Bridges. b) Understanding Permitting Requirements. Because of the nature of the project location, several permitting agencies could be involved in the review and approval of the selected art installation (City of Pasadena, Harris County, Texas Department of Transportation)

Call for Artists

This RFQ is part of a multi-phase process by which the Pasadena Economic Development Corporation seeks to identify and select a qualified public artist to create and install a lighted public art project. The agency seeks qualifications from experienced public artists (or artist teams) who specialize in public art lighting design. This individual or team of individuals must be able to: a) design an art /lighting project for the public realm; b) work within multiple, complex physical constraints (e.g., structural considerations, environmental restrictions, and various permitting requirements); and c) collaborate with agency staff to ensure the pragmatic design and successful installation of the project; and d) design and implement the project within a budget. Request for Qualifications

1. Eligibility

This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is open to professional artists or teams with experience in the design, fabrication, and installation of public artwork that has lighting incorporated as a critical focus of the artwork. Artists must have experience in producing a minimum of two permanent, exterior public artworks similar in scale and complexity to this project.

The artist must demonstrate:
a) a history of professional activity and achievement as an artist; b) experience managing a project of this complexity including technical competence with fabrication and installation procedures; and c) the ability to procure and direct the work of subcontractors/consultants.

2. Submission Deadline

Complete responses must be received before 4 p.m., on August 9, 2021

3. Projected Schedule

The PEDC has tentatively set the following schedule:

RFQ Release: July 9, 2021

RFQ Submission Deadline: August 9, 2021

RFQ Review by staff and panel deadline: August 23, 2021

Finalist(s) invited to respond to RFP: By August 27, 2021

Finalists proposals due: September 27, 2021
Finalist Selection: By October 8th, 2021

4. Qualifications Review

Staff will screen applications to ensure compliance with the minimum qualifications stated in this RFQ. Following this preliminary review, a selection panel will vet qualifying submissions and will select up to 3 artists (or artist teams) who will be invited to prepare proposals for the project.

5. Review and Selection This RFQ is being used for pre-qualification purposes. The qualifications review committee will check responses against the evaluation criteria. Responses not meeting all mandatory evaluation criteria will not be considered for review. Qualified respondents will be provided with a copy of the RFP if one is issued.

Artists will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Interest in the project and ability to create artwork that is unique to the site;

• Years of experience in public art and lighting design in the public realm;

• Quality of portfolio that is directly related to this public art specialization;

• Demonstrated proficiency and technical knowledge of the materials and techniques;

• Proven ability to deliver the project requirements on time and budget; and

• Experience and success in creating public artwork in collaboration or cooperation with design teams and under the auspices of a public agency.