SUBJECT
Title
Approve Art in Private Development Project - Intuitive Surgical/950 Kifer Road
Report
BACKGROUND
Under the City’s Art in Private Development Ordinance (Sunnyvale Municipal Code (SMC) Chapter 19.52), Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is required to provide public art for their project at 950 Kifer Road. The art must be equal in value to a minimum of 1% of the construction valuation or $977,645.
The procedure established for reviewing the artwork is:
1) Review the artist’s background, including their experience and ability to design, fabricate and install large-scale artwork(s).
2) Review the artwork to determine whether the nature and style of the artwork is appropriate for the site.
3) Determine whether the proposed artwork is appropriate in scale for the overall development.
4) Review the location of the artwork for accessibility to the public.
5) Review the maintenance and durability of the artwork.
The purpose of this report is to request the Arts Commission review and approve the proposed artwork. Under the Art in Private Development Ordinance, the Arts Commission is authorized to make a final determination on the proposed artwork and the City Council is not scheduled to consider this item.
EXISTING POLICY
Sunnyvale Municipal Code 19.52 - Art in Private Development
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
A Program-level Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared for the Lawrence Station Area Plan (LSAP), and a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) for the LSAP was prepared to address changes associated with the underlying project in this case (demolition and construction of two new office/R&D/manufacturing buildings and related improvements at 932, 945, 950, 955 Kifer Road). On September 14, 2021, the City Council approved the SEIR and the underlying project, which was specifically analyzed in the SEIR. Consistent with SMC Chapter 19.52 (Art in Private Development), art was a required component of the project, and project conditions of approval required the applicant to obtain Arts Commission approval of the proposed art.
DISCUSSION
Project Location: The project is located at 950 Kifer Road directly across the street from where Commercial Street intersects Kifer Road (Attachment 1-Vicinity Map). The site is in a predominately industrial area, but Kifer Road is considered a major connector road between Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. Staff anticipates this site will have a high level of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
Project Description:
Intuitive is redeveloping 32.4 acres of existing office/research and development sites to expand and consolidate business operations in Sunnyvale (Attachment 2). The new campus of 1.2 million sq. ft. will include parking, landscaping/open space, and circulation improvements and will accommodate approximately 3,500 employees. The new campus will be split by Kifer Road, but the main building on each side will be connected by a pedestrian bridge on the second level. Each side will also be required to provide public art:
• South Side/932 - 950 Kifer Road: This site will house a new three-story, 847,000 sq. ft. industrial/research and development building, a new 141,333 sq. ft. office building with four levels of underground parking, and a separate five-level, above ground parking structure.
• North Side/945-955 Kifer Road: This site includes a three-story, 364,000 sq. ft. office building with two levels of parking underneath, and a one-story, 11,000 sq. ft. detached amenity building for employee use.
The artwork for the south site is included in this report. The artwork for the north site will be developed and reviewed at a future date.
Artwork Location: The proposed location for the south site artwork is along Kifer Road in front of the main building and adjacent to the main driveway (Attachment 3). The artwork will be positioned in the landscaping and will be visible to pedestrians, cyclists and passing motor vehicles.
Selected Artist: The artistic team selected for this project is San Francisco-based FutureForms (Nataly Gattegno and Jason Kelly Johnson). Their approach to art and design has been explained as “experiential, interactive and materially rich.” The artistic duo has been creating public art since 2011, completing public art installations in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Albany, Denver, Washington D.C. and Milan, Italy (Attachment 4). The team has completed two projects in Sunnyvale (Intuitive Surgical 2020 and Cityline 2022) and are working on future installations for projects in San Jose, CA; San Francisco, CA; Anaheim, CA; Boca Raton, FL; El Paso, TX; and Scottsdale, AZ.
More information and images for FutureForms can be found online at futureforms.us.
Artwork Proposal: For this project, the artist has designed a monumental sculpture that will stand 16-feet tall by 22-feet wide and 8-feet deep (Attachment 5). The stainless steel frame will be covered with hundreds of gold titanium nitride coated shingles. Similar to a mobius loop, the overall form was created by joining two continuously interconnected double-curved surfaces around a central opening or portal. The twisted inner golden surface is smoother with a more reflective, higher resolution shingled appearance; while the outer silver surfaces are faceted and modular. The overall form of the sculpture and twisting center portal is evolving and appears to change depending on the position of the sun and the viewer.
The artists chose to title the sculpture “Continuum,” noting that the definition of the term is “a continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, but the extremes are quite distinct. Something that keeps going, changing slowly over time.”
Maintenance: The artwork can be easily maintained and naturally resistant to weathering. Dirt and bird droppings can be rinsed with a garden hose and stubborn dirt can be wiped clean using a soft cloth and a mild detergent.
The developer is responsible for the on-going maintenance and associated costs of the artwork. As with all private development artworks, if the artwork falls into disrepair, staff will work with the developer to address this concern. If the artwork is not properly maintained there is the potential for fines to be imposed.
Lighting: The developer is proposing to light the work using six LED fixtures installed at ground level. The lights will be adjustable and dimmable, and aimed at the sculpture to be compliant with dark sky requirements. Each light fixture will be mounted on a 12-18” tall power pipe within the landscape stone area surrounding the artwork. The lighting will be tied into the building’s lighting control system to avoid lighting the sculpture unnecessarily during the day and ensuring security in the evening hours.
Art Bond: The City has collected a security in the form of a bond to guarantee installation of the art. The bond will be held until completion of the public art requirement, consistent with SMC Chapter 19.52 (Art in Private Development). The requirement will be deemed complete when the following conditions are met:
1. Installation of the art.
2. Installation of a plaque identifying the artwork and artist.
3. Installation of lighting for the artwork.
4. Registration of the artwork, and the property owner’s obligation to maintain the artwork, with the County of Santa Clara.
5. Verification that the 1% expenditure has been met.
FISCAL IMPACT
If approved, the developer will be responsible for the design, fabrication, and installation, as well as ongoing maintenance costs of the artwork. There is no fiscal impact on the City’s operating budget other than incidental staff time to monitor the project, which is budgeted in the Art in Private Development Program.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made through posting of the Arts Commission agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board, on the City’s website, and the availability of the agenda and report in the Office of the City Clerk.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Recommend approval of the artwork as it is proposed
2. Do not recommend approval of the artwork as it is proposed
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1:Recommend approval of the artwork as it is proposed
Staff
Prepared by: Kristin Dance, Recreation Services Coordinator II
Reviewed by: Trenton Hill, Recreation Services Manager
Reviewed by: Damon Sparacino, Superintendent of Recreation Services
Approved by: Michelle Perera, Library and Recreation Services Director
ATTACHMENTS
1. Vicinity Map
2. Elevation Project Renderings
3. Site Plan with Art Location
4. Artist Resume and Past Works
5. Artist Sculpture Renderings
6. Lighting Plan