City of Tamarac: Night/Day Public Art at Fire Station 78

The City of Tamarac, Florida, seeks an artist or artist team to create an artwork on the facade and/or atop the new Fire Station 78 located at 4801 West Commercial Boulevard, Tamarac, FL 33319, west of Fort Lauderdale and adjacent to the Florida Turnpike. The artwork will reflect the spirit of the Tamarac fire service and succeed artistically at both day and night next to an 8-lane wide intersection. The facade will be approximately 22 feet tall, 50-100 feet long and made of concrete. The artwork must succeed at visual distances of 50 to 300 feet, as tens of thousands of vehicles enter and exit the Florida Turnpike daily, with many sitting in front of the station at traffic lights. Very few pedestrians approach the Fire Station on foot.

The facade faces south-southwest in full sun most of the day, presenting opportunities for 3-D forms or facade textures with dark shadows. At night, the site and sky are extremely dark, creating an opportunity for illuminated artwork. A space of approximately 12 feet will likely be available between the top of the facade and the maximum zoning height of 35 feet. The artwork must be durable for the humid Florida climate, UV light resistant, and low maintenance, with certification by a Florida engineer as hurricane resistant per the South Florida Building Code. The Public Art Committee wishes the artwork to help identify the new fire station both day and night and should respond to or reflect the mission and history of firefighters and paramedics. Suggested symbols include the Maltese cross, tolling of bells, helmets, dalmatians, St. Florian, and brass playpipes.

The total artist fee is $100,000, including all costs for research, design, engineering, permit documents, fabrication, shipping, installation, materials, photography, travel, and sales tax. The call is open to all North American professional artists, designers, and teams with experience creating public art projects with public agencies. Artists must be able to work effectively within the project timeline and collaborate with the Design-Build contractor, governmental agencies, community groups, City staff, fabricators, and the Public Art Committee. Deadline for submissions: 11:59 PM MST, Thursday, April 3, 2014. Three to five artists will be awarded a $1,500 fee to develop an artwork proposal. The final contract will be awarded based on evaluation of the artwork proposal, artist experience, and references. Installation of artwork is anticipated for late 2015 or early 2016.