Invitational RFQ for Artists - City Services Building - City of Santa Monica

The City of Santa Monica is seeking artists or artist teams to create work for the City Services Building (CSB), a proposed addition to the City's historic City Hall at 1685 Main Street. The approximately 50,000 SF structure will house a consolidated permit center and 240 staff members, featuring a basement and three floors above grade with entrances through the City Hall courtyard and on Olympic Drive.

The CSB design will meet the U.S. Department of the Interior's technical guidelines for additions to historic structures and will be compatible with the historic building's massing, size, scale, and materials. The City of Santa Monica is pursuing Living Building Challenge (LBC) certification, the most rigorous sustainability certification program in the world. The building will harvest all energy from the sun, collect and reuse all water from site precipitation, and process all waste onsite. Construction is scheduled from 2017 through spring 2020.

This competition is open to invited artists and artist teams who reside in the United States. Previous experience in civic art is essential and must be demonstrated in the submitted portfolio. The selected artist must be able to meet the City's contract requirements and be available to meet multiple times over a several-year timeframe with City staff, the project team, and City advisory boards and commissions. The all-inclusive budget for design, fabrication, and installation is $500,000, covering all project-related expenses including design, travel, presentation materials, engineering, insurance, and artwork lighting.

Three primary sites are available for artistic response: the Interior Permit Counter (a wall/divider creating a permeable membrane that acts as a visual barrier and privacy screen), the Interior Courtyard (an open-air centerpiece connecting the new building with historic City Hall), and the South Stairwell (visible to the public from the building exterior, allowing for suspended work, lighting elements, and wall treatments). Submissions should include a brief objective statement, letter of interest describing qualifications and completed similar projects, sixteen images of past work with up to four media files, an image/media list with detailed information, and a professional resume or CV for each team member.