Art helps developers put final touches on buildings

Real Estate Weekly, Oct 3, 2001 by Ellen S. Berns

The final accessory of today's workplace design is artwork. Like on a classic black dress -- the sparkle of a well-places and/or a selected art committee. Artwork evaluations, presentations, selections, and budget approvals will immediately build focused, open, creative expression. This concrete expertise strengthens and expedites the program's developmental process. Clarifying the client's needs/vision/budget and handling these factors with professionalism and detailed care equals an art installation success.

Three issues are paramount for laying the collection's foundation. Exploring through sources to strained refinement will ultimately define the art program's unity. Aesthetics, function, and reality environment conditions will sooner or later be exposed, adjusting themselves perfectly within these phases. They are as follows:

1. The individual corporate theme. Concept vision direction -- the corporate image and the firm's history are initial important topics to be explored.

2. The selected image. Concept selections include framing variations, styles, types, era.

3. The collection value. Value placed upon unified aesthetic groupings versus value focused upon investment with unified aesthetics as well.

These categories, though touched upon in a concise fashion, need intense study, discussion, and review. When researched and developed thoroughly, they insure success. Scaled elevation drawings for each proposed art placement wall/floor area are imperative. Within these 2-D pictures, room proportions will be apparent and will support or reject specific art pieces. This effective process makes the placement/selection procedures more precise. Specific reality requirements will assuredly surface: lighting and electrical conditions, special surface mounting hardware needs, and most importantly, confirming wall/floor structural weight capacities for supporting proposed art/sculpture. As these drawings will serve as working tools throughout the entire development and installation phases, they, too will document client approval: exact location, quantities, and costs.

Prior to all final art selections, an on-site art placement review is invaluable. Coordination of galleries, sources, availability of approved art installer, service elevators' space capacities, required insurances must be in place.

That said, Murphy's law exists. Numerous smaller issues will surely arise. A well-organized and well-placed corporate art collection can unmistakably add to the strength of a corporate facility. Proven is the fact that artwork can be as uplifting and memorable for its employment force and corporate clientele as a well-appreciated keepsake.