INTRODUCTION

LK Architecture has been retained by the City of Wichita to provide full design services for improvements to the west bank of the Arkansas River between the Douglas and Waterman bridges.  The project extends from the edge of the water to the east curbline of McLean Blvd.  Additionally, the project area has one private development parcel which is in design for a hotel.  LK Architecture has also been retained to provide landscape architectural services for the private hotel project to ensure cohesion between projects.  

 LK Architecture and the City of Wichita invite public art consultants with a demonstrated history of completing complex, permanent, outdoor public art projects to submit their qualifications  The intent of the RFQ is to procure a public art planning consultant who will be responsible for coordinating with the design team and City staff to determine appropriate locations and scope of integrated public art within the project and conducting a Call for Artists to provide the artwork.

 LK Architecture along with City staff will facilitate the selection process for the Public Art Planning Consultant.  The selected Public Art Planning Consultant will be expected to enter into an agreement with LK Architecture to provide the scope of services outlined in this Request for Qualifications.

 BACKGROUND

The City of Wichita completed a new minor league baseball stadium in 2020 and modification of McLean Blvd. creating opportunities for private development infill at the stadium and along the Arkansas River.  In coordination with the developer, the City has initiated a contract to design improvements for the west bank of the Arkansas River.  Generally, these improvements include sea wall edge, multi-purpose pathways, terraces, retaining walls, lighting, seating and landscape improvements to the bank.

This is a continuation of an ongoing process to improve the riverfront through downtown Wichita which started with the raising of the Keeper of the Plains at the confluence of the Little Arkansas and Big Arkansas rivers and addition of pedestrian bridges.  Public art integration has been an important part of each phase of this work and is of primary importance for this phase as well.

PERCENT FOR ART & CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

This project is funded through the Percent for Art Ordinance and the City of Wichita’s Capital Improvement Plan. In 2019, the Wichita City Council approved an ordinance that allotted 2% of capital improvement funds to a pool of funding allocated for the commissioning of on-site artworks that then become part of the citywide art collection. The administration of the Percent for Art Program is overseen by the Design Council, an 11-member advisory board.

PROJECT TYPE

It is anticipated that the selected Public Art Planning Consultant will work collaboratively with the design team and City staff to identify appropriate location, type, and scope for more than one public art installation which are integrated into the overall riverfront design. 

ART GOALS/CRITERIA

The objectives for the final public art area as follows: 

Ø  Public art shall be integrated into the overall design of the riverfront whereas the art complements and enhances those improvements. 

Ø  Public art shall be created which can be interactive with the public in creative ways.

Ø  Public art shall add to the overall sense of place and enhance placemaking within the overall riverfront design.

Ø  Public art shall take into consideration this site’s unique location along the banks of the Arkansas River and within the historic Delano District.

ART LOCATION

The public art shall be located within the boundaries of the project area.  Generally, this is between the edge of the river along the East to McLean Blvd. along the West.  Douglas Ave. bridge to the North and Waterman bridge to the south.  This excludes the private development parcel shown on the attached exhibit.   Art may be located within the floodplain, however, must be of a nature that can withstand floodwater flow without being damaged.

ART CONSULTANT SCOPE OF SERVICES

The selected Public Art Planning Consultant (art consultant) will be responsible for attending design team meetings, collaborating with the design team to determine art opportunities and budget allocation,  facilitating the artist solicitation process, presenting design concepts to relevant approval boards; retaining or assisting in retaining support services for artists, facilitating site preparation and installation; obtaining and submitting milestone updates, maintenance plans, artwork documentation, and final approvals. Virtual or in-person attendance requirements will be determined based on the selected candidate’s geographic location and specific project needs. It is anticipated that this project will retain two – five artists through an open call for entry.   Artist selection will be determined by a committee like this solicitation and would include the selected Public Art Planning Consultant.  The selected artists will be contracted to the Public Art Planning Consultant for design services and to the General Contractor for final fabrication.

BUDGET

The City of Wichita has allocated an overall budget of $700,000 to be spent on public art for this project.  This budget shall include fees for the Public Art Planning Consultant and all artist(s) creative work, art, and installation on site.  Reasonable lighting of artwork may be coordinated with LK Architecture and provided by the construction budget.  Specialty or integrated lighting shall be part of the cost of artwork, with electrical coordination between the Artist and LK Architecture.  Specialty engineering services specific to the artwork shall be included in the budget for Public Art.  Public Art Planning Consultant shall be expected to be present for all presentations of artwork for approval.  Additionally, LK Architecture will retain 1% of the budget for administrative purposes.

SCHEDULE/TIMELINE

Public Art Planning Consultant RFQ Issued:                                 February 16, 2024

Pre-proposal Virtual Meeting (non-mandatory)                              February 22, 2024

                Virtual Meeting information will be provided to

 interested parties by emailing Jeff Best at

 jbest@lk-architecture.com

Deadline for Question (to LK Architecture)                                    March 1, 2024

Responses to all questions issued                                                March 6, 2024

Qualifications Due                                                                         March 15, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. CST

Interviews (if needed)                                                                    April 1 – April 5, 2024

Notification of Award                                                                      April 8, 2024

Public Art Procurement schedule will be determined with the selected Public Art Planning Consultant, LK Architecture, and City staff.  Schedule will be based on type of artwork and integration with overall construction.

EVALUATION

Applicants/consultants will be evaluated by a selection committee made up of individuals from the design team, City staff and local stakeholders with a vested interest in this project.  The selection panel will review submittals and determine the candidates that may be shortlisted.  Selection panel may conduct interviews to make a final selection or reserves the right to forgo shortlist and interview and select a consultant based on the qualifications and demonstrated experience or reject all submittals entirely should no qualified submittals be received. If interviews are conducted, those interviews will be done virtually via Microsoft Teams.  The Selection panel reserves the right to request fee proposals from the top ranked candidates. 

Ø  Artistic excellence: demonstrated vision, professional process and presentation, and quality in examples of past work; examples provided should be relevant to how the consultant will approach this project.

Ø  Creative process: examples of past work should illustrate how the consultant has used community engagement in their design process; examples should be relevant to how the consultant will approach this project.

Ø  Ability: demonstrated experience in public art management and executing large scape outdoor artwork, coordinating engineering and fabrications teams, delivering contractual milestones, and managing large budgets in a timely fashion.

Ø  Collaboration: demonstrate consultants’ approach and ability to collaborate effectively with the client and design team to determine best outcomes for the project.

The successful candidate will be required to enter into a contract with LK Architecture to provide the services outlined above and/or negotiated after the award.  

 LK Architecture and the City of Wichita reserves the right to reject any and all responses and/or modify the scope of services during the negotiation of the contract.

Costs of preparing and submitting all responses to this RFQ are entirely the responsibility of the applicant. 

Application Requirements

SUBMITTAL CONTENT AND FORMAT

Each consultant or consultant team must submit an entirely digital application.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

1.       Six (6) to ten (10) total images of past large-scale public art and infrastructure projects by the consultant.

2.       Annotated Image List: An annotated image list that includes the title, media, year completed, dimensions, location, project budget, timeline, and client or commissioning entity for each corresponding image.

a.       The annotated image list may include thumbnails of submitted images but does not replace the need to upload individual image files in fulfillment of number 1 above.

b.       Image annotations may include very brief descriptions of how the image illustrates one or more of the selection criteria.

3.       A one (1) page Letter of Interest (LOI) stating why this project opportunity is meaningful and appropriate for the applicant’s work, as well as potential approach to this project.

4.       A two (2) page resume or curriculum vitae (CV).

a.       If applying as a consultant team or firm, provide a resume or CV for each team member and a list of key team members and their roles/affiliations in one PDF.

5.       Three (3) professional references.

QUESTONS

Qualified candidates shall submit all questions to this Request for Qualifications via email to Jeff Best, LK Architecture at jbest@lk-architecture.com.

SUBMITTAL PROCESS

 Application is available via CaFE at callforentry.org. Deadline for submission is March 15, 2024, 11:59 p.m. MT.

Eligibility Criteria

The role of Public Art Planning Consultant is open to professional artists and art consultants with proven experience and expertise in large-scale public art projects, who live and work in the United States of America. This RFQ is open to both individual consultants and consultant teams. Preference may be given to individuals who qualify as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE).

The consultant must demonstrate experience in public art planning, community outreach, collaboration, and a commitment to working with and for the benefit of the public. The consultant must have completed projects with a similar scope and budget as what has been identified in this RFQ.

It is the declared policy and practice of the City of Wichita to extend equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, political affiliation, sexual orientation, disability, or other non-merit factors.