Artwork Budget: $218,000
Deadline: January 6, 2020
Link to online call here.

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU Anschutz) is the largest academic health center in the Rocky Mountain region, and a world-class medical destination at the forefront of transformative education, science, medicine, and healthcare. The campus includes the University of Colorado health professional schools, multiple centers and institutes and two nationally ranked hospitals, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado, which treat nearly 2 million patients each year. All interconnected, these organizations collaboratively improve the quality of patient care they deliver, research they conduct, and health professionals they train.

The Anschutz Health Sciences Building (AHSB), which is expected to open in mid-2021, integrates functionality, healing and future-mindedness into its stunning seven-story design, providing much-needed space for education, research and clinical programs at CU Anschutz. The research and innovation that will happen in the AHSB will improve mental, behavioral and overall health for Coloradans and people across the globe; and the combination of programs within the facility will be a centerpiece for collaboration, a space where leaders, entrepreneurs and other thinkers work together to reshape the future of health care. The Anschutz Health Sciences Building will be an integral and dynamic focal point of the campus, furthering its trajectory as one of the leading medical care, research, and education facilities in the world.

The seven-story, 390,914 square foot interdisciplinary building, designed by ZGF, in partnership with Anderson Mason Dale, will be located at the western portion of campus, serving as an entry point to the “artwalk” – the main pedestrian promenade of our campus. ASHB will support multiple users, including researchers, faculty and staff, students and patients, and includes facilities for computational research and clinical trials, an educational medical simulation hub, mental/behavioral health research clinics, faculty offices, and other educational and amenity spaces to be shared by the campus.
The Anschutz Health Sciences Building’s sculptural form takes its cues from the carved mass of the surrounding mountains and canyons integral to Colorado’s regional identity and is expressed as a rich layering of plateaus and faces in the crystalline exterior of metal and glass. The exterior architecture extends into the interior spaces, creating moments for occupants to interact between the interior and exterior environments with ledges and terraces that allow access to the outdoors and Colorado landscape views. A sky lit atrium serves as a central gathering space, promoting connection and collaboration across the multiple floors. The project is targeting LEED Gold v4.

The Art Selection Committee is looking to commission an artwork for the interior of the Anschutz Health Sciences Building, and has pinpointed several possible locations for the artwork. One of the possible sites is a second-floor wall, designated as the southwest site in the provided plans and renderings. This southwest site visible from the main entrance on the southwest side and likely also visible from the exterior. Artists could propose a wall or ceiling mounted artwork for this particular location. This location can support up to 5,000lbs hanging from above. The second location, the northwest site, is a two story area between the 1st and 2nd floors. The final artwork opportunity is a two-story space on the south side of the building, near the entrance and next to floor-to-ceiling windows. This location can accommodate a ceiling-hung artwork that could activate the vertical space. This artwork likely will also be visible from the building’s exterior. The south location can support 1000lbs hanging from the stair above, with a required involvement from the building’s structural engineers for input on vibration characteristics and how that may affect the artwork.
The committee would like the work to address the science focus of the Anschutz Health Sciences Building’s programs, including the interface between data and nature. The core goal of ASHB is collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach to medicine, so an artwork that relates in some way to these aspects of the building would be appreciated.

---

Ruth Bruno

Program Manager, Art in Public Places



P 303-892-3813 | C 303-880-6671

1600 Broadway, Suite 2500, Denver, CO 80202

ruth.bruno@state.co.us | www.coloradocreativeindustries.org