REPORT TO ARTS COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Approve Art in Private Development Project - Intuitive Surgical/1050 Kifer Road
Report
BACKGROUND
Under the City’s Art in Private Development Ordinance (SMC 19.52), the Intuitive Surgical development at 1050 Kifer Road is required to provide public art. The public art component must be equal in value to one percent of the building permit valuation. The procedure established for reviewing the artwork is as follows:
1) Review the artist’s background to ensure he/she has the experience and knowledge to design, fabricate and install large-scale artworks;
2) Review the artwork itself to determine whether the nature and style of the artwork is appropriate to the site;
3) Determine whether the proposed artwork is appropriate in scale for the overall development; and
4) Review the location of the artwork for accessibility to the public.
The purpose of this report is to request the Arts Commission review and consider approval of the proposed artwork. Under the Art in Private Development Ordinance, the Arts Commission is authorized to make a final determination of the proposed artwork and the City Council is not scheduled to consider this item. The Commission’s decision, however, may be appealed to the City Council by the developer.
EXISTING POLICY
Sunnyvale Municipal Code 19.52 - Art in Private Development
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
A mitigated negative declaration was prepared for the underlying project, Intuitive Surgical at 1050 Kifer Road Consistent with SMC Chapter 19.52 (Art in Private Development), art was a required component of the project and project approval was conditional based on the applicant providing visible public art along Kifer Road (condition of approval #BP-12). The Planning Commission adopted the MND and approved the project with the conditions of approval on Dec. 12, 2016.
DISCUSSION
Project Location: The project site is a 21.7-acre lot located at 1050 Kifer Road (Attachment 1 - Vicinity Map). The property is bounded to the north by office/research and development (R&D), to the south by office/R&D and railroad tracks, to the west by office/R&D (recently constructed Intuitive Surgical building at 1020 Kifer Road) and to the east by mixed use/residential (under construction). A high volume of vehicular traffic on Kifer Road and increasing pedestrian traffic in the area is anticipated as nearby residential and mixed use construction projects are completed.
Project Description: The existing project site has four office/R&D buildings totaling 362,679 square feet and surface parking. These buildings are occupied by Intuitive Surgical, a medical robotics R&D company (Attachment 2 - Site Plan).
The current project includes construction of two, four-story buildings totaling 392,465 square feet of office/R&D space and two parking structures. The project also provides publicly-accessible open space, including two landscaped seating areas along Kifer Road and Sonora Court and a 25-foot wide multi-use trail along the site perimeter. Construction of the current project will occur in two phases over the next two to five years. It is anticipated that the proposed artwork will be installed during the first phase in late 2019, and the artwork required for Phase II will be proposed to the Arts Commission at a future date.
Artwork Location: The proposed location for the artwork is at ground level, along Kifer Road near the main entrance to the building (Attachment 3 - Site Plan with Art Location). The location was selected for its proximity to the main entrance of the site and building. The location will have the heaviest foot traffic on site which will foster interaction and establish a focal point for the Intuitive Surgical campus. The selected location will be visible to vehicular and pedestrian traffic along Kifer Road.
The proposed location is also in the vicinity of the existing artwork for the adjacent Intuitive Surgical building at 1020 Kifer Road (Attachment 4 - Photograph of Existing Sculpture). That artwork, a stainless-steel sculpture designed by Seattle artist Troy Pillow, was approved by the Arts Commission on June 19, 2013.
Although the two sculptures are close in proximity (within approximately 100 feet), staff has visited the site and determined that the two sculptures will complement each other’s style and presence. The two works do not interfere with the public view corridors and the architectural style and materials are consistent, further balancing the nearness of the sculpture sites.
Selected Artist: The artistic team selected for this project is San Francisco-based Future Cities Lab (Nataly Gattegno and Jason Kelly Johnson). Their approach to art and design has been described 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 and Milan, Italy. (Attachment 5 - Artists’ Resume). Upcoming art installations include: St. James Park Levitt Pavilion in San Jose, CA; Sea Beach Line Station, New York, NY; Oakland, CA; North Union Station, Washington DC and San Francisco, CA. Future Cities Lab is also included in pre-selected artist pools for major art programs including: the San Francisco Arts Commission, Alameda County Arts Commission, City of Austin, TX and Oregon Regional Arts & Culture Council.
Images of Future Cities Lab’s public commissions can be found at future-cities-lab.net.
Artwork Proposal: For this project, Future Cities Lab has designed an interactive shade canopy entitled “Cosmos” (Attachment 6 - Rendering of Artwork and Attachment 7 - Diagram of Artwork). Standing 22 feet high, the stainless-steel sculpture will have a 33’-9” x 24’-10” (792 square foot) footprint. The sculpture canopy will consist of a combination of smaller folded stainless-steel “petals” (custom bent by the artists) and perforated stainless-steel “petals” (powder coated blue).
The “petals” will be assembled in a geometric pattern and secured in a frame resembling a funnel cloud (Attachment 8 - Materials & Assembly Diagram). The artists explain their design as “an exploration in translating mathematical principles into physical form. The Fibonnacci Sequence informs the specific algorithm underlying the three-dimensional structure and skin of the artwork. While the form of the artwork would be fixed, the play of light, reflection and color would change through the day and season. The site-specific installation invites visitors to experience the interplay of pattern, light, art and science in a way that is both playful and contemplative.”
The canopy is designed to create an open, shaded space that encourages visitors, workers and community members to congregate and view the play of shadow and light. The developer has committed to providing bench seating near the sculpture, although the exact number, design and placement of benches has yet to be determined.
The shadow and light will transform throughout the day and evening, as viewers change vantage points and the natural sunlight changes from dawn to dusk and season to season. The artists also note that “the origami-like surfaces…are meant to inspire spontaneous interactions and playfulness by both adults and children who might enjoy spending time underneath the artwork’s intricate organic structure and kaleidoscopic skin.”
Lighting Plan: During the day, the artwork will be lit by sunlight, naturally filtering through the petals to create shade, shadows and colorful patterns on the ground below (Attachment 9 - Rendering of daylight Illumination). From above, the viewer’s vantage point will be focused on the colorful petals of the sculpture canopy, while the ground-level patterns will still be visible (Attachment 10 - Rendering from Above).
At night, the artwork will change as ground level up-lighting will illuminate the underside of the canopy with white light, highlighting the variations of blue and silver petals (Attachment 11 -Rendering of Evening Illumination).
Maintenance: The artwork will be assembled to discourage bird landings and roosting on the canopy by using bird spikes and angled “petals”. The angling will also encourage self-cleaning from rain fall, although the sculpture can be power-washed periodically to clean dirt build-up and bird droppings.
FISCAL IMPACT
If approved, the developer will be responsible for design, fabrication and installation costs of the artwork, as well as ongoing maintenance. 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.
The developer anticipates the artwork budget will be equal to or greater than the Art in Private Development requirement ($451,047), however, if it is not, the developer will be required to contribute the difference to the City’s Public Art Fund. The developer is required to provide backup documents to substantiate all art expenditures.
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. Approve the artwork as it is proposed.
2. Not approve the artwork as it is proposed.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative 1: Approve the artwork as it is proposed.
recommendation
Staff concludes that the proposal meets the criteria outlined in Sunnyvale Municipal Code, Chapter 19.52.040, standards for Art in Private Development.
Staff
Prepared by: Kristin Dance, Community Services Coordinator II
Reviewed by: Trenton Hill, Community Services Manager
Reviewed by: Damon Sparacino, Superintendent of Community Services
Approved by: Cynthia E. Bojorquez, Director, Department of Library and Community Services
ATTACHMENTS
1. Vicinity Map
2. Site Plan
3. Site Plan with Artwork Location
4. Photograph of Existing Sculpture
5. Artists’ Resume
6. Rendering of Artwork
7. Diagram of Artwork
8. Materials & Assembly Diagram
9. Rendering of Daytime Illumination
10. Rendering from Above
11. Rendering of Evening Illumination