Budget

$30,000 ($15,000 for each artist/design)
Budgets are inclusive of WA Sales Use/Tax and other taxes.

Opportunity

Mobility is a human right and King County Metro is committed to getting people where they need to go—safely, equitably, and sustainably. As part of their transition to a 100% zero-emissions fleet powered by renewable energy, Metro is expanding capacity at its South Campus to house, operate, and maintain approximately 250 new battery electric buses.

This campus expansion will occur at their South Annex property, 11911 East Marginal Way South in Tukwila, WA, just west of the existing South Base facility. After construction, South Annex Base (SAB) will function as a stand-alone bus base with maintenance and operations to support its fleet.  

4Culture, working closely with Metro and SAB lead artists Haddad|Drugan (Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan), is seeking two King County, WA, based artists to create distinct but complementary site-specific surface treatment designs for interior walls in the base’s 1st floor dispatch hallway and 2nd floor dayroom.

The imagery should help define these gathering spaces, complement existing design schemes, convey a Pacific Northwest sense of place, and elevate themes of connectivity (people, power, place), empowerment (energy, equity, electricity), sustainability, and biophilia, tying to Living Building Challenge and public art program goals.

This is a unique opportunity for regional emerging or mid-career artists who want to gain experience in the field of public art, bridging the gap between studio and public practice by translating their two-dimensional work into permanent media on a large scale.

The selected artists will be responsible for creating digital files that meet technical requirements defined by the SAB interiors team. The interiors team will provide final dimensions of the walls, information about print media and possible finishes, and supervise production and application/installation of the designs to be implemented by a Metro contractor. Haddad|Drugan, with the support of the 4Culture Project Manager, will provide mentorship to the artists throughout the process.

Background

King County Metro is leading the nation in the creation of a fully electric bus fleet. Bus bases are the heart of Metro’s bus system, providing essential support for safe and reliable service. This support includes housing and maintaining off-duty buses as well as training, dispatching, and managing bus operators. Base workforces include operators, supervisors, administrative staff, mechanics, painters, and others in skilled trades.

When complete, SAB will house and maintain up to 250 battery electric, zero-emission buses and operational facilities that are third-party certified green buildings. Metro is pursuing Living Building Challenge Certification to recognize efforts to design and build a facility that adheres to sustainable practices.

SAB represents many firsts and superlatives:

• First new permanent base in generations.
• First entirely electric base (buildings & vehicles).
• Large solar installation (3 MW).
• Extensive stream daylighting.
• Net zero energy.
• Net zero carbon, with some exceptions.

In designing this new facility, Metro has prioritized the health and wellbeing of its employees with the following features:

• Connection to nature through daylight and views for 75% of regularly occupied spaces.
• Responsible materials (i.e., avoiding materials that include chemicals that harm human health or the environment wherever possible).
• Principles of universal access including gender neutral restrooms, a lactation room, and quiet areas of respite​.
• Moments of beauty and biophilia through art, natural patterns and textures, and celebration of culture, spirit, and place​.
• Warm and responsibly forested wood materials.

The artist team of Haddad|Drugan joined the SAB design team in December of 2023, after a highly competitive national selection process, to help influence the look and feel of the facilities, develop their own site-specific artwork, and recommend and support opportunities for other artists/teams to lend creative thinking to the project.

“For Metro’s South Annex Base, we will draw inspiration from the facility and surrounding environment to develop artworks that both represent and inspire our diverse King County community and the staff who will be using the facilities daily. We envision artworks integrated into a variety of sites, some more iconic from distant views and others more nuanced and experiential. We are excited about the potential for art to weave together stories about innovative sustainable practices, including electrification of the buses and restoration of Riverton Creek, to create a strong sense of place while also inspiring awareness about how the energy of transit can empower us.” –Laura Haddad & Tom Drugan

Haddad|Drugan conceived of this opportunity based on goals and principles they have identified for the SAB public art program:

• Expand the collective consciousness of King County around electrification of Metro’s bus fleet and its ties to sustainability.
• Incorporate iconic elements that become symbols of the electrification of Metro’s bus fleet.
• Use art to honor, elevate, and enhance work happening in all locations of the base.
• Integrate art with architecture and wayfinding.
• Consider views of the artwork from vantages both inside and outside of the site.
• Mark key arrival and collecting points with art.
• Incorporate art in locations where workers spend their time.
• Use art to bring a human scale to large infrastructure.
• Where possible, incorporate flexibility for adaptability over time.
• Call attention to the daylighting of Riverton Creek branches on the east and west sides of the site.
• Explore themes of connectivity (people, power, place), empowerment (energy, equity, electricity), sustainability, and biophilia, tying to Living Building Challenge + Energy Petal goals.
• Incorporate diverse approaches and artworks by artists with varying levels of public art experience.

SAB 90% Renderings

View PDF.

Location

11911 East Marginal Way South, Tukwila WA, 98168

4Culture + Metro

4Culture is King County, WA’s cultural services agency. Metro is the region’s largest public transportation agency, providing bus, paratransit, vanpool, and water taxi services as well as Seattle Streetcar, Sound Transit Link light rail, and Sound Transit Express bus service operations.

4Culture and Metro have a long history of working together on public art projects. For many years, 4Culture commissioned permanent art for integration at transit centers, park and rides, and bus bases. Between 2009-2019, focus shifted to ephemeral art experiences, including a line-specific soundscape and mobile game, a multi-lingual poetry program, Poetry on Buses (now Poetry in Public), and development of a world-renowned mural corridor, SODO Track. In 2020, artist team Johnson|Ramirez was commissioned to create an art plan that addressed all of the lines in the RapidRide (bus rapid transit) Expansion program. We are now looking system-wide to advance the future of transit in its entirety, starting with SAB.

Additional Information

4Culture Public Art
King County Metro Transit
SAB Expansion
City of Tukwila

Selection Timeline*

Project Timeline*

* Schedules are subject to change.
** Applicants are expected to participate in a virtual orientation and interview if selected as a finalist.

The 4Culture application system is being used for this process. You may be required to create a new account. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with questions. We encourage you to begin your application early.

Contact Us

If you have technical questions about the application, please contact:

Fiona Dang
fiona.dang@4culture.org
206-848-0215

If you have conceptual questions related to the opportunity, please contact:

Jordan Freeman
Jordan.freeman@4culture.org
206-263-1589

Translation and Assistance

The guidelines, a detailed explanation of how to apply, and the application are in English. If this is a barrier that stops you from understanding the grant or applying due to limited English writing ability, visual impairment, or you would like to request assistance to create an application, please contact hello@4culture.org or call (206) 296-7580 or TTY 711, and we will make sure you get the support you need.  

Las pautas, la explicación detallada de cómo enviar la solicitud y la solicitud están en inglés. Si esto le impide comprender la información relacionada con la beca o enviar una solicitud debido a una limitación en la capacidad para escribir en inglés, si tiene una discapacidad visual o si desea recibir asistencia para crear una solicitud, escriba a hello@4culture.org o llame al (206) 296-7580 o TTY 711, y nos aseguraremos de que obtenga la ayuda que necesita.  

详细说明如何申请的指南以及申请本身均使用英文。如果由于英语写作能力有限、视力障碍而妨碍您对本资助的了解或申请，或者您希望请求协助来完成申请，请发送电子邮件至 hello@4culture.org 或致电 (206) 296-7580 或 TTY (听障专线) 711 联系，我们会确保您获得所需的支持  

Руководство, подробная инструкция и форма заявки на английском языке. Если вам сложно разобраться в процедуре получения грантов или подачи заявок из-за ограниченных навыков письменного английского языка либо нарушений зрения, а также если вы бы хотели обратиться за помощью при составлении заявки, отправьте письмо на адрес электронной почты hello@4culture.org или позвоните по номеру (206) 296-7580 или 711 (телетайп), и мы позаботимся о том, чтобы вы получили необходимую помощь.  

Hướng dẫn, giải thích chi tiết về cách nộp đơn va tài liệu áp dụng tất cả đều bằng Tiếng Anh. Nếu đây là rào cản khiến quý vị không hiểu được khoản trợ cấp hoặc cách nộp đơn do khả năng viết tiếng Anh hạn chế, do quý vị bị suy giảm thị lực hoặc muốn yêu cầu hỗ trợ để tạo đơn đăng ký, làm ơn liên hệ hello@4culture.org hoặc gọi (206) 296-7580 hay TTY 711 và chúng tôi sẽ hỗ trợ những gì quý vị cần.  

Tilmaamaha, sharaxaadda faahfaahsan ee ku saabsan sida loo codsado, iyo waraaqda codsiga waxa ay dhammaan ku qoran yihiin Af-Ingiriisi. Haddii ay arrintani tahay caqabad kaa hor istaageysa fahamka deeqda ama codsashada oo ay sabab u tahay awoodda qorista Af-Ingiriisiga oo xadidan, araggaaga oo liita, ama aad jeclaan lahayd inaad codsato in lagaa caawiyo in aad codsi sameyso, fadlan la xiriir hello@4culture.org ama wac (206) 296-7580 ama TTY 711, waxaana xaqiijin doonnaa inaad hesho taageerada aad u baahan tahay.