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UTAH ARTS & MUSEUMS’ PUBLIC ART PROGRAM

Request for Artist’s Qualifications for the Mountainland Technical College - Trades and Technology Building

Request for qualifications from artists and/or artist teams resident in the western United States, interested in creating site specific exterior artwork for the Mountainland Technical College Trades and Technology Building in Lehi, Utah.

DEADLINE FOR MATERIALS: December 4, 2020

MOUNTAINLAND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
The mission of the Mountainland Technical College (MTECH) is to enhance the employability of individuals through market-driven career and technical education, through the five core areas of: program development, student achievement, faculty and staff support, physical resources, and community outreach.
 
This is accomplished through competency-based education and training programs, which may be long term, short term, apprenticeship, or custom designed for individual employer needs. Many of the programs are offered in an open-entry, open-exit format providing flexibility for students and employers at low-cost tuition for adults and no-cost tuition for high school students.

Students are assisted in acquiring the basic skills necessary to succeed in these technical training programs. MTECH prepares students to enter, re-enter, upgrade, or advance in the workplace, which contributes to the economic development, and improves the quality of life for Mountainland Region citizens.

HISTORY OF MOUNTAINLAND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
Mountainland Technical College (MTECH) was originally established as Mountainland Applied Technology Center in November 1989 under the guidance of the Mountainland Region Vocational and Technical Education Coordinating Committee (VTECC). In 2001 through state legislation, the College officially became Mountainland Applied Technology College and an affiliate campus of the Utah College of Applied Technology (UCAT). In June 2006 MTECH was awarded full accreditation and in 2017 became Mountainland Technical College, a recognized body-corporate and body-politic institution governed by Trustees of the Utah System of Technical Colleges.

MTECH is the fastest growing college within Utah’s Technical College system, offering programs in over 50 career and technical education fields with over 1 million student membership hours.

LEHI, UTAH
Lehi is located 23 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah. The indigenous populations of Utah include the Ute, Southern Paiute, Navajo, Goshute, Northern and Eastern Shoshone. Prior to European settlement, these Nations ranged all across the Great Basin and Inter- mountain West.

This area of Lehi was settled by pioneers in 1850. Since that time Lehi has been known by the names of: Sulphur Springs, Snow’s Springs, Dry Creek, and Evansville. The present name of Lehi was adopted when the city was incorporated in 1852. Lehi is Utah’s sixth oldest town and northernmost community in Utah Valley. The first major boom to the city was in 1858 as a result of the establishment of the Utah Expeditionary Force at nearby Camp Floyd, the largest military establishment in the United States at that time. The city’s second economy grew substantially again in the 1890s with the establishment of the Utah Sugar Company’s first factory at Mulliner’s Mill Pond.

The Overland Stage Coach Route, Pony Express Trail, and Transcontinental Telegraph all passed through Lehi during the peak of their use, across the Jordan River via nearby Indian Ford.

Lehi is surrounded by Wasatch Mountains to the east and White and Oquirrh Mountains on the west.

THE NEW FACILITY
Mountainland Technical College is a leader in providing career and technical education. Flexibility of programs and curriculum development is vital to their success in placing students either directly into high-demand occupations or continuing education pathways at another college or university through stackable credentials.

MTECH’s Trades and Technology building will create a new center for trades education in the Mountainland region by housing a variety of industry and technology programs including: Automotive, Diesel, Advanced Manufacturing, Welding, CNC/Machining, and Information Technology.

MTECH’s main campus is in Lehi, Utah, located at the corner of Ashton Blvd. and 2300 West. The campus is in close proximity to a recent and fast-growing commercial development on the western end of Utah County’s “Silicon Slopes,” where several high-tech companies, both local and international are located.

The Wasatch front’s commuter rail line, Frontrunner, connects Utah County to Salt Lake County, and runs along the southwest corner of the site. As the Wasatch front population continues to grow, this will expose the college to thousands of riders a day.
 
While MTECH’s new project will harmonize with the campus context, their bold vision seeks to embrace modern technical educational environments and will be inspired by the students, instructors, and industry partners that use the space daily - with equal emphasis on the exterior elements and the interior functions. In this sense, the project is designed from the inside- out - putting the trades and technology programs on display through layers of transparency, lighting, textures and graphics/signage.

BUILDING DESIGN
The building design embodies versatility through expansive, nearly column-free labs and shops. The building design, with the long axis running east-west is generally arranged with the labs/shops on the south side, and the classrooms on the north side.

Classrooms and lab support spaces are located on the north side immediately adjacent to the labs. This puts the main interior circulation for the entire building on the furthest north side – connecting new main entries to existing/enhanced pedestrian pathways and parking for the existing campus site. The second level overlaps the first, with the circulation corridor located above the shops to provide views into them from the safety of the higher vantage point. The classroom bar is further divided into smaller volumes with circulation/collaboration spaces for each shop at regular intervals.

EXTERIOR and INTERIOR MATERIALS
The exterior materials are in harmony with the existing campus palette: Light brown brick veneer, locally-quarried natural stone veneer, standing seam metal roofing (bronze color). This is balanced with “clear” high-performance glazing – which is featured on the north façade. The palette is also inspired by the modern buildings of Silicon slopes (glass and steel). In general, the design of the interior spaces create a welcoming, learning environment, that is bright, inviting, and promotes good health.


COMMITTEE STATEMENT
This facility will be a place where community members can take advantage of the training programs to provide a better quality of life, to further their career development, and to develop a love of lifelong learning. MTECH takes great pride in serving both high school and adult learners - and the faculty, administration, and board have a common goal of enriching the student through quality education.
 
In development of work for this project, artists may consider the specific training offered at MTECH and/or the union between educational training and economic development – a significant responsibility of the college. Other considerations may include the topography, community, and traditions of the Mountainland Region and Utah County.

The Committee has identified the exterior for art placement/involvement at the North side of the new facility.

BUDGET
$88,000 is available for all related expenses of this Public Art commission(s) including (but not limited to) artist fees, fabrication, insurance, shipping, travel, installation, documentation, etc.

ELIGIBILITY
Resident American or legal resident artist / artist teams living in the western United States (UTAH, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington or Wyoming) eligible for this commission. Utah artists are encouraged to apply. Art selection committee members and immediate families, board members, and employees of Method Studio or Utah Division of Arts and Museums are not eligible for this project.

SUBMISSION OPTIONS, INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIRED MATERIALS
Register at www.callforentry.org and follow the directions for registration and submitting material for this Public Art Request for Qualifications

Utah Arts & Museums will not be responsible for applications delayed or lost in transit. While all reasonable care will be taken, neither the Utah Division of Arts & Museums nor the MTECH Trades & Technology Art Selection Committee will be liable for late or lost electronic files. The MTECH Trades and Technology Art Selection Committee reserves the right to withhold the award of a commission or re- release the call for entries.

DEADLINE:
Complete applications must be RECEIVED on or before Midnight, Mountain Time – December 4, 2020

SELECTION PROCESS AND SCHEDULE
The Selection Committee will review proposals from which a short list of semi-finalists  will  be selected and invited to develop a proposal. The finalist honorarium will be applied toward the commission amount for the artist(s) awarded the commission. Final selection(s) will be made from the semi-finalists.

December 4, 2020 Deadline for receipt of qualifications
December 17, 2020 Committee reviews applications
February 11, 2020 Finalist presentations / proposals
 
ART SELECTION COMMITTEE

Clay Christensen MTECH, President
Joseph Demma MTECH, VP College Relations
Brad DeMond DFCM Project Manager
Joshua Greene Method Studio Architects
Becky Hawkins Method Studio Architects
Blake Hendry MTECH, Facilities Director
Sam Kellerman Method Studio Architects
Kirt Michaelis MTECH, VP Administrative Services
Holly Peterson MTECH, VP Instruction
Roni Thomas Public Art Consultant - Community Representative

If you have any questions about this or other projects information is available at: https://artsandmuseums.utah.gov/publicart/
or contact: Jim Glenn at 801 245 7271 or jglenn@utah.gov

Images courtesy of Method Studio

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria

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