Client: Children's Medical Center
Location: Dallas, TX, United States
Completion date: 2014
Project Team
Art Consultant
Louise Nicholson Carter
Skyline Art Services
Artist
Ron Gordon
Artist
Peter Hite
Artist
Jonathan Brown
Art Consultant
Jacqueline Chan
Skyline Art Services
Art Consultant
Charles White
Skyline Art Services
Artist
Kenneth von Roenn
Overview
A new art program at Children’s Medical Center supports a comprehensive wayfinding system that helps patients and visitors maneuver through the several-million-square-foot campus of five separate buildings. Using visual arts as a component of the wayfinding strategy requires successful integration of commissioned work into the campus-wide system of signs, symbols, and meanings in the built environment. A primary objective is to reduce stress and anxiety for both patients and staff who are navigating the large campus. This form of healing art demonstrates a therapeutic approach to healthcare design.
Goals
A significant part of the campus renovation focuses on eight public elevator banks, ranging between five and thirteen stories, which serve a central role in the path of travel for patients, visitors, and staff. Each elevator is identified with a unique icon, including "Butterfly," "Trains," "Planes" and "Flags.” On each floor, an artist is commissioned to execute a series of major works to clearly identify each of the elevator lobbies. Each artist is given a very similar set of requirements, with which to implement their a unique vision, with a style and medium consistent and recognizable from elevator lobby to the next. By unifying the floor and consistently identifying each elevator, visitors can anticipate and discover these highly appealing artworks as they make their way through the campus, encouraging a sense of discovery and engagement.
Process
The artists were guided by the overarching concept of "refined whimsy." Their iconic subjects were selected beforehand to appeal to the curiosity and tastes of the pediatric patient population, but the artists were encouraged to adopt a sophisticated approach, not simplistic or patronizing. Before commissions were approved, the artists participated in conversations with the consultants at Skyline Art Services about these requirements and submitted sketches for approval by the hospital's interior design committee. A consistent approach to this large, multi-phase renovation project allows for an organized approach to commissioning and installing the artwork.
Artist Ron Gordon completed a series of torn magazine paper collages that provide rich and unexpected detail within the artwork. The same can be said of Peter Hite’s postage-stamp collage, utilizing thousands of stamps from around the world to encourage viewers to examine the works closely as well as to consider the work as a whole. Rich textural qualities emerge in Jonathan Brown’s glass mosaics, with their surprising play of colors making a powerful effect. Skyline Art Services’ in-house designers and artists designed illuminated signage as well as a number of works printed on a variety of substrates.
Additional Information
This is an ongoing project, and we look forward to collaborating with more artists on future commissions.