Home of the Planning Department, Building Inspection, and Public works, the 1500 Mission Building will be a significant hub for the growth, development, and sustainability of San Francisco. These departments work tirelessly together to create a better life for the City's citizens. Surface explores the ways in which these departments reflect the needs of the public through a transparent generative process where ideas and actions commingle, innovate and move the city forward.
In order to express these relationships, Sanaz Mazinani will employ techniques of data visualization to create an abstract landscape of the City of San Francisco. The sculpture will be comprised of a series of 37 hanging panels formed of triangular tessellations - the triangle referencing the three main departments in the building. Each panel represents a neighbourhood of San Francisco. Each seven-inch equilateral triangle represents 250 inhabitants. The size of each panel is thereby determined by the population of each neighbourhood. Additionally, the panel forms reference the topographic profile and elevation of the neighbourhoods they represent. Last, each panel will depict the green space in each neighbourhood by means of apertures where light can shine through.
Coming together in a dynamic spherical form suspended in the lobby centre, Surface will provide unique views from the ground, second and third floors. One side of the facetted tessellations composing the undulating surface of the panels is composed of mirrored stainless steel and the opposing side is powder coated in a flat matt white finish. The visiting public contributes to the ever changing reflections of the mirrored surfaces, which echo the shifting patterns of the city. The white surfaces reflect light at a different angles to create subtle variations in tone that resemble folded paper, referencing, in part, the intellectual output of the departments that build, alter and sustain the physical terrain of the city.
Dimensions
The sculpture will extend at its maximum 29' x 29' x 28'. There will be 37 individual panels that will hang with cables from the ceiling. The panel sizes vary from 3' x 1' (Financial District) to 12' x 6' (Mission).
Materials
The panels will be created from marine grade polished mirrored #8 stainless steel and powder coated white on the other. The hanging armature will be visually minimal, comprising stainless steel cables from the panels which will attach with anchors at the ceiling. The sculpture will require 8 psf of uniform dead load.
Maintenance
Maintenance is minimal, as the only maintenance needs is periodic cleaning. Periodic cleaning of the piece, if desired could happen at the regular frequency of other indoor pieces in the city’s collection. Pieces will be hanging at angles that minimize the collection of debris. When cleaning, the sculpture must only be handled with clean white cotton or latex gloves. When cleaning the sculpture please use a soft dry cloth only. Do not use any liquids to clean the stainless steel panels, to avoid oxidation.
The stainless steel that will be used is marine grade and has excellent corrosion resistance. Powder coatings are extremely durable, and various types are formulated to endure the severity of chemicals, abrasion, and chipping, or UV radiation from sunlight. Powder coating is also “environmentally friendly”, with no VOC’s in any part of the powder coating process.
View larger image here.
Opportunity For Public Comment
Arts Commission staff presented the qualifications of 21 artists selected from the 2017/2018 Prequalified Artist Pool and the San Francisco International Airport: Terminal 1 Large-scale Suspended Artwork Pool to a Public Art Selection Panel. The panel consisted of an Arts Commissioner, a member of the design team, two representatives of the client agency and three arts professionals. The Panel reviewed and scored the artists on the short list and selected the four highest scoring artists to create proposals for the site: Sanaz Mazinani, Tomás Saraceno, Ranjani Shettar, and Sarah Sze. The finalists then developed their proposals that are on display at Public Works or Planning Department and on the Arts Commission website for public comment from September 5 to 14, 2017. Comments will be summarized and shared with the Panel prior to the final selection. Please note that comments by interested members of the public do not constitute a vote.
The proposals presented in this exhibition are the finalists' preliminary concepts. The selected proposal will be further developed and refined to determine the fabrication technique, and meet all feasibility, maintenance, safety and other requirements, as needed. All final designs are subject to approval by the Arts Commission prior to implementation.
Please take a few minutes to review the proposals on display here and complete a comment form. You may also email your comments to sfacpublicartcomment@sfgov.org, or hand deliver/mail comments to 401 Van Ness Avenue, Room 325 by September 14, 2017, 5 p.m.
The Final Selection Panel meeting will take place on September 18, 2017, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at 401 Van Ness Avenue, Room 302. All Artist Selection Panel meetings are open to the public. An agenda for the meeting will be posted 72-hour in advance of the meeting on Arts Commission’s website under the Public Meeting section: www.sfartscommission.org/calendar.