Client: Baystate Children's Hospital Specialty Center

Location: Springfield, MA, United States

Completion date: 2014

Project Team

Art Consultant

Carla Santia

Carla Santia and Associates

Artist

Peter Michel

Peter W. Michel, Sculptor

Client

Richard Sears

Baystate Children's Hospital Specialty Center

Industry Resource

Paul Amaral

Amaral Custom Fabrications, Inc.

Industry Resource

John Beauregard

BVH Integrated Services

Industry Resource

Dave Belfonce

North Eastern Water Jet, Inc.

Overview

This joyful colorful wall sculpture marks the home of the Baystate Children’s Hospital Specialty Center in Springfield, MA. It consists of 3 main parts: (1) a 22’-4” x 10’-5” x 4” section on the south wall, (2) a 15’-9" x 10’-5” x 4” section on the east wall and (3) a 5’-5” circle section connecting the first 2 sections. It is painted with the rainbow colors on 3/8” thick marine grade aluminum.

Goals

The goal was to create a symbol to mark this building as a special and welcoming place for children - a place that makes a person smile and feel comfortable knowing that this is where well-being can be restored. The blue structure symbolizes that place of healing. The joyful rainbow colored figures, represent the diverse community that is served by this place.

Process

The process began with a call from the art consultant to the sculptor. The children’s hospital planning group liked Michel’s past work and thought it would be an appropriate expression for their facility. Using a previous design as a take-off point, design and color CAD studies were presented on a special series of web pages to facilitate feedback. A number of iterations were developed as suggestions for modifications were made and integrated into the design. Once the preliminary design was settled, the fabricator and building’s structural engineer helped refine the construction and installation details.