Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation’s Center for Arts & Culture Stair Design Competition

The Proposal Overview:
Through funding from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation’s Center for Arts & Culture is releasing the following call for proposals inviting artists, designers, and local organizations to re-design two flights of stairs and the corresponding stairwells of 247 Herkimer Street, located at Restoration Plaza. The building houses Restoration’s Youth Arts Academy and resident art organizations Balance Dance Theatre, Evidence Dance Company, the Noel Pointer Foundation School of Music, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, collectively serving 550 students and their parents annually as well as some 145 artists.

Successful applicants will create an energetic and inspiring design that promotes the Center for Arts and Culture’s multi-disciplinary programming in dance, drama, drumming, stringed instruments and voice. This stairwell redesign will replace the current design that has been in place for over five years, prepared by City Year. Only cosmetic changes are requested and no structural enhancements should be involved. The goal of the project is to encourage stair use in order to help improve health. The proposal will be evaluated on its capacity to make the stairs:

• more prominent/visible
• readily accessible
• generally more inviting

Background Information:
With a mission to preserve, present and renew the rich artistic legacy of the African and Caribbean Diaspora and to inform the artistic development of the Bedford Stuyvesant community, Restoration’s Center for Arts & Culture (CAC) reached over 44,000 over the past year through its multi-disciplinary arts instruction and year-round presenting program. The CAC boasts such cultural assets as the Youth Arts Academy, Skylight Gallery, and Art Residents Billie Holiday Theatre, Choreoquest’s Balance Dance Theatre and Evidence Dance Company, The Noel Pointer School of Music and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.
Given that obesity, and with it type 2 diabetes, are now epidemic and on the rise in New York City, Restoration’s Center for Arts & Culture would like to incorporate supportive environments that encourage healthy lifestyle choices into the redesign of its art facilities. Obesity is the second leading cause of deaths in the U.S. after tobacco, and physical inactivity is the fifth leading cause. Physical inactivity also contributes to the second, third, and fourth leading causes of deaths – obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood glucose, respectively. Achieving physical activity in daily living poses tremendous health benefits. Just two minutes of stair climbing a day burns enough calories to prevent the average U.S. adult annual weight gain. There is growing scientific evidence that the way our buildings, streets, and neighborhoods are designed can influence healthy behaviors. To support the creation of more opportunities incorporating routine physical activity in daily living and healthy eating, a cohort of several New York City agencies published the Active Design Guidelines (www.nyc.gov/adg) in 2010. These guidelines outline design and building strategies for promoting physical activity for architects, engineers, designers, planners, and building owners and managers. Whereas stairs cannot easily be relocated in existing buildings and can often be hard to find, locked, poorly lit and maintained, and generally uninviting, it is the goal of this project to use art and design to encourage stair use at 247 Herkimer.

Proposal Goal:
The goal of this project is to transform the existing stairwell of 247 Herkimer Street, making it more prominent and inviting to building users, thereby encouraging its use and active lifestyle choices. Winning proposals will utilize a clear and consistent theme that reflects the building’s use as well as the mission of Restoration‘s Center for Arts & Culture. Applicants should draw upon stair design strategies mentioned within the Active Design Guidelines, while addressing the following: How can innovative art and design solutions be used to make the stairs more prominent and inviting to building users – drawing them towards, into, and up or down the stairwell? How can design be used to enliven the users’ stair experience by appealing to the senses of sight, sound, touch, and creativity? How can this design be tailored to be socially and culturally relevant and appeal to individuals from the community in which it is located?

Applicants are challenged to create a practical design which can be implemented within a modest fixed budget of $7,000.

Call for Proposals:
The candidate will create a cosmetic re-design of the main stairwell which will carry out the following objectives:
• Encourage building users to choose the stairs over the elevator for travel between floors.
• Enhance the experience of those taking the stairs.
• Celebrate the cultural aspects of the community in which the stairs are located.
• Incorporate a consistent theme that reflects the building’s use and the mission of Restoration’s Center for Arts & Culture


Eligibility:
• Individual and group applicants are invited to make submissions
• Designers and artists of color and those residing from the Brooklyn community are particularly encouraged to make submissions.
• If younger than 18, you must provide parental consent.

Time Line:
• November 9: Release of RFP
• November 17 (2 pm and 5pm): Artists are invited for a site visit at 247 Herkimer to visit the stairwell. During the site visit, artists will have an opportunity to ask questions regarding the RFP. RSVP attendance by emailing ksmith@restorationplaza.org or calling 718-636-6969
• Friday, December 2: RFP Submission Deadline
• December 5-9: Individual meetings with select finalists
• December 12: Notify winning artist
• December 12-January 9: Finalize artist work plan including timeline and budget
• Week of January 9: Project Implementation

Submission Requirements:
1. Artist resume
2. Samples of past work
3. Proposed sketch of redesign
4. Project description and how it incorporates the mission of the Center for Arts & Culture as well as the goal and use of this space. Should not exceed 3 pages, 12 point font, double spaced. The description should include:
• How the re-design will visually lead people to the stairs;
• How the re-design will enhance the overall stair use experience;
• Why the re-design is cost-effective and replicable;
• How the re-design is culturally appropriate to our community;
5. Breakdown of budget, no greater than $7,000.
• materials
• labor
• artists fee- Applicant(s) may allot money towards their own work involved with project (e.g., painting)
• art installation

Potential Benefits If Selected:
We anticipate numerous opportunities for press and recognition for the selected artist including a ribbon cutting event to be held upon the unveiling of the finished stairwell. The artist will also receive recognition on a press release as well as on Restoration’s website which boasts some 40,000 hits annually and our facebook page which has over 1600 supporters. We envision the project as being used as an example for similar stay-fit redesign projects city-wide.