The proposed 1.6 acre public plaza is a component of the downtown revitalization project and is located on the corner of Evelyn and Frances Street. The site is bordered on the east by the new transit center (Caltrain), by the new Mozart office complex on the west and the existing Town Center Mall and Town and Country complex to the south. Historic Murphy Avenue shops and restaurants are found to the east of the project site.

On April 8, 2000, the City of Sunnyvale and the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.) of Santa Clara Valley co-sponsored a design charrette for the downtown plaza to solicit public input on the plaza design. Participants in the all day charrette included residents, business community members, students, architects and City staff.

Following the charrette, staff compiled design ideas and features, and over the next three months presented the summary to appropriate City Boards and Commissions. These included the Arts Commission, Bicycle Advisory Board, Heritage Preservation Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission and the Planning Commission. Each Board and Commission provided input regarding the charrette summary.

Throughout the design process the community has provided a rich palette of descriptive ideas regarding desired elements for the plaza. Six essential design elements have played an important role in all of the design discussions and workshops with the community. These elements include the use of water, edge treatment, heritage reference (including Sunnyvale’s agricultural orchard history), multi-use space, a variety of surface treatments and views within and around the plaza.

In February 2001, Amphion Environmental, Inc., a design team from Oakland, California was contracted by the City to prepare conceptual plaza designs for community review and feedback. On June 4, 2002, the City Council approved a conceptual design for the downtown plaza. The selected design plan incorporates curvilinear lines of green space and hardscape to create a combination of active and passive spaces within the plaza.

Community Design Sub-Element: Policy D.2.c. – Encourage public courtyards and plazas to have: comfortable, shady places to sit, protection from automobile noise and fumes; defined boundaries; and, where appropriate, water elements and artwork.

Community Design Sub-Element: Policy D.2.e. – Continue to acquire public artworks that contribute to the public identity of outdoor places and provide pleasure and enrichment for Sunnyvale residents.

Community Design Sub-Element: Policy D.2.f. – Encourage selection of public artworks that have a broad appeal and capture the aspirations or social and cultural heritage of the community.

At a study session on September 18, 2002, the Arts Commission reviewed the Council approved design for the plaza and identified three elements that would be most appropriate for the integration of public art. These included:

• The 65-foot diameter concrete labyrinth in the amphitheatre area on the northeast corner of the plaza. The labyrinth was identified as an area that could incorporate artistic enhancements to embellish the maze pattern scored into the concrete that is included in the plaza’s basic design plan.

• The thirteen areas where the horizontal and vertical paving bands meet in the plaza’s decorative paving. At the center of each of these intersections will be a 16" X 16" cast concrete or granite medallion. The medallions lend themselves to artistic enhancements.

• The six decorative columns that mark the ends of the serpentine seating or planter walls that are located throughout the plaza. These concrete columns will vary in size (height and width), however; each column will be topped with a 2" high X 21" diameter stainless steel cap.

In September 2002, an invitational request for proposals was conducted. (Please refer to Attachment A - Invitational Request for Conceptual Proposals.) Staff reviewed artist slides and resumes that are kept on file and solicited potential contacts from the Arts Commission and project architects. A short list of nineteen qualified artists who work in media and style appropriate to the project was developed and these artists were invited to submit conceptual proposals for art in the downtown plaza. The artists were provided with general background about the project, information from the original Design Charrette and subsequent discussions about plaza elements. Artists were encouraged to consider accessibility, safety, durability, the appropriateness of the artwork to its environment, as well as, the ability of the artwork to create a memorable and welcoming space in keeping with the goals of the plaza conceptual design. Artists were also advised that proposals must be A.D.A. compliant and be fabricated from heavy duty, durable materials that require only limited maintenance.

Of the nineteen artists invited to submit conceptual proposals, three submitted proposals for Arts Commission consideration on October 16, 2002. The Arts Commission was asked to rank the proposals in priority order for recommendation to City Council; however, after review and discussion of the three proposals, the Arts Commission took action to recommend to Council only one of the proposals.

Following the October 16 meeting, staff contacted the artist and asked that a detailed proposal be prepared. This proposal was presented to the Arts Commission on November 20, 2002 and the Commission again endorsed the proposed artwork.

The artist recommended for this project is sculptor Gerald Heffernon. (Please refer to Attachment B - Artist Resume.) Mr. Heffernon is a resident of Davis, California and has been sculpting for over thirty years. His fine arts expertise includes public commissions for the Sacramento Arts Commission, the city of Davis, the Wisconsin Arts Board and the United Neighborhood Association of Madison, Wisconsin.

Mr. Heffernon has chosen to relate the plaza artwork back to the City’s rich agricultural history. He is proposing to create six, larger than life pieces of fruit that will range in size from 36" high to 16" high. (Please refer to Attachments C - Computer Renderings of Proposed Artwork.) The six types of fruits represented will be pear, apple, plum, peach, apricot and cherry.

The fruit sculptures will be cast in aluminum and painted in a realistic style with automotive paint. The sculptures will then be powder-coated for UV resistance. Each sculpture will be secured to the 2" X 21" stainless steel finial, which will then be anchored to the cement column.

The artist has designated a particular piece of fruit for each pedestal in the plaza area. However, during installation the fruit sculptures may need to be relocated to different pedestals in order to provide optimal viewing for the public. (Please refer to Attachment D – Plaza Site Plan and Attachment E – Construction Drawings.)

The Arts Commission held a public hearing on this matter at its regular meeting on October 16, 2002. Staff presented three proposals for Commission consideration. Commissioners questions were satisfactorily answered and the Commission unanimously recommended that Council approve the attached public art proposal for the downtown plaza of painted aluminum sculptures of fruit that will be installed on the six decorative columns at the end of the curvilinear cement walls in the downtown plaza. The Commission directed staff to ask the artist to work with fruit consistent with Sunnyvale’s agricultural history. (Please refer to Attachment F – Excerpt From the Approved Minutes of the October 16, 2002, Arts Commission Meeting.) On November 20, the Arts Commission reviewed the detailed art proposal and unanimously approved Mr. Heffernon’s design with the request that the artist alter the cherry sculpture so it is more to scale – proportionately smaller, with longer, thinner stems – and depicted as a pair of cherries. (Please refer to Attachment G – Excerpt from Unapproved Minutes of November 20, 2002, Arts Commission Meeting.)

Reviewed by:
Robert A. Walker
Director, Parks and Recreation

Mary J. Bradley
Director, Finance

Marvin Rose
Director, Public Works