Piles of Policy
Defining and Building Public Architecture and Art with GSA
by David Polk, AIA
PUBLIC-NESS
The GSA Public Building Service is the nation’s largest landlord. The federal agency acts as the government's real-estate arm, managing over 8300 owned and leased properties, 360+ million square feet of office space across 2200 communities, and houses over one million federal employees nation-wide. Not to mention, GSA has hundreds of public artworks which make up one of the largest public art collections in the world.
GSA is tasked and trusted by law to design, construct, operate, and maintain the federal real-estate that represents the vast communities across the nation, and the government services that support them. Think U.S. Courthouses, U.S. Land Ports of Entry, government data centers and laboratories, and tons of office space. The true mantle of GSA is literally in the name of the Public Buildings Service. It serves the public as the steward of America’s architecture. While an embassy abroad helps to represent America to another nation, a U.S. Courthouse is the representation of America to itself. From centuries old buildings like the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House that demonstrates historic patrimony, to more contemporary facilities like the new U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles, CA.
Let that sink in. For better and for worse, the federally controlled public space is the ultimate example of “public-ness”. This is the people’s property. How a government facility fits within a community can set a tone for the many publics that make up the broader, national public realm. It is precisely the “public-ness” of public art and architecture that makes them so difficult and worth getting right! As our built environments grow more complex, constrained, and even contested, the quality and accessibility of public art and architecture are paramount.
Over the past 75 years, GSA has developed and delivered on tried and true principles of stewardship for America’s architectural resources. The Guiding Principles of Federal Architecture penned by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1962 laid the groundwork for both the Design Excellence and Art in Architecture Policies and Procedures:
Major emphasis should be placed on the choice of designs that embody the finest contemporary American architectural thought. Specific attention should be paid to the possibilities of incorporating into such designs qualities which reflect the regional architectural traditions of that part of the Nation in which buildings are located. Where appropriate, fine art should be incorporated in the designs, with emphasis on the work of living American artists.
For decades GSA has fostered the integral relationship between public art and public architecture by commissioning the nation’s finest artists and architects to work together to enhance the grounds and plazas around the buildings with monumental sculpture and landscapes, integrate large-scale murals and sculptures into building facades, and install mobiles, mosaics, and paintings in lobbies and atriums. All with the intent to enhance the public experience to be more inviting—inspiring even—as people engage with their government. The principle idea being that the artist's concepts are being developed alongside the architectural concepts, not throwing art into a lobby post construction. These ambitious collaborations that demonstrate America’s top creative talent are made possible through GSA’s long-run policy to define a percent-for-art program.
POLICY & PERMISSION
The word “policy” is often stigmatized as a naughty word; but it doesn’t have to be!
Much like the game of chess, policy can be complicated; but “rules” govern the game of chess, not “policy”. Policy is simply the framework and set of assumptions by which a program can operate. The rules of the game, if you will. It can define processes, human resources, financial resources, stakeholders, engagements, outreach, timelines, boundaries, and even accountability. The other nuance of policy is permission. Much like construction, a building permit not only grants the permission to build, but also the protection and right to do so.
GSA dedicates .5% (read one-half of one percent) of estimated construction costs of new capital construction and major renovations/alterations to commission artists for site-specific works that integrate into and elevate the architecture. Dedicating a percent for art is a choice, a designation, a policy. It’s deliberate and now a given. GSA also spells out which artists are qualified, how they are selected, who participates in selection panels, and how the artists and architects work together. The proven policies take the guesswork out of the process and help to streamline and elevate the caliber of the public works.
One of the bedrock Art in Architecture policies is the selection panel makeup—regardless of the building typology, or size and scope of the construction project. For each new project, GSA convenes a panel of art professionals, the primary federal client representative, civic and community representatives, the project’s lead design architect, and GSA staff. This diverse and dynamic panel helps to recommend artists to be considered, evaluate artists for a project’s site-specific potential, and helps to review and critique artists’ concepts for artistic merit and long-term maintainability. Curating the right panel make-up is the first and most important step to setting the tone for any commission.
What’s great about GSA’s percent-for-art policy, is the adaptability to use the dedicated funds for new art commissions, conservation or restoration of existing artworks, or as deemed appropriate to supplement preservation efforts of unique and intricate details, craftsmanship, and finishes of historic buildings. While the commission amount is driven by the size of a project budget, admittedly, the scope of a given project may be more of a driver. New construction is straightforward as the art would be integrated into the most public of spaces being designed and proposed… Palimpsest: Detroit; Nick Cave, 2022 or crossings; Ann Hamilton, 2021—for example. Renovation projects become trickier if the required construction work does not alter the common, public spaces of a facility where artwork would naturally be located. On the surface, the recent project at the Jacob Javits Federal Building in New York for exigent repairs of the roof and plaza waterproofing would not have triggered a commission for new artwork or directly affected the existing sculptures, Manhattan Sentinels; Beverly Pepper, 1996. But GSA took the opportunity to seize the percent for art to carefully remove the 30-40’ high, thirty-year-old cast iron sculptures, meticulously document and conserve them, and hoist them back into their original configuration to stand clean and proud for another thirty to fifty years in the Civic Center along Broadway.
The GSA Design Excellence and Art in Architecture programs have served as a model for other municipal governments both because of its impressive public art and architecture portfolio, and simply because of its Policies & Procedures—which are clear and easily accessible to the public. GSA has modeled a baseline for others not necessarily to mimic, but to model and adapt and learn from a fifty-year legacy.
PROCESS & PLIABILITY
Although GSA does a great job defining the process over the final product, that doesn't mean there aren’t hiccups or challenges. Construction funding (and the percent-for-art) for federal projects can grow, shrink, or be cancelled. New administrations can support, spotlight, challenge, limit, or simply question existing policy and procedures. Architects’ or artists' patience can grow thin. GSA’s client/tenant agencies also have differing opinions, preferences, and receptivity to certain types or styles of artists or artworks. Art and architecture professionals need to be both willing and capable to adjust ambitions, commissions, panel member makeup, artist concepts, architectural concepts, art locations, etc.
The hard part of policy-making is not just getting it right, but getting it right-sized. Policy needs to be rigid enough to establish processes, yet with enough wiggle room for project-specific adaptations, opportunity for innovation, and flexibility to work with new and diverse talent. In short, the framework, the foundation—the piles, if you will—are not prescriptive. Good practice would not pile on superfluous layers of policy, but allow for pliability. No two projects or commissions are the same:
NEW YORK - As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, GSA is tasked to deliver two small, new Land Ports of Entry in New York state along the US-Canada border. Due to the size and classification of each of these facilities individually, the percent-for-art commissions would not meet certain established policy, project qualifications, or minimum thresholds. It would have been easier (and permitted) to forgo the art commissions. To do nothing. However, GSA was committed to delivering on its mission to serve the public and deliver public art in these small communities. GSA creatively bundled the individual percent-for-art set asides to help qualify as a singular artist commission, allowing both facilities to receive a unique public art commission at each location. Even if smaller works, each of these communities will benefit from these new public artworks in perpetuity. That’s the thoughtful, right-sized approach to balance policy and process. Err to the side of public benefit.
PUERTO RICO - Public projects are often just as much about building trust in a community as it is building a building itself. In the case of the new U.S. Courthouse Annex in San Juan, Puerto Rico, GSA initially struggled to get responses in their outreach to local arts professionals, organizations, and community members. Although GSA was excited about the opportunity for new, large art commissions, it proved difficult to garner interest even in assembling the right panel. Whether due to misunderstanding or mistrust, the local art community was simply reluctant to respond to any contact or work with the federal government. Despite GSA’s willingness to do the hard work, they recognized the apprehension for what it was. GSA had to retool their approach, leverage existing relationships, pause to make more meaningful connections and new relationships, spend time to discuss and connect with the municipal government and arts community, and spell out the exciting opportunity to provide public art commissions in excess of one million dollars. Building relationships simply takes time. GSA also made additional efforts to translate documents and announcements into Spanish and hold bilingual engagement meetings to reach a broader audience. Meeting people where they are isn’t an either/or but a both/and mentality—top-down AND bottom-up, in-person AND virtual, by email AND phone, English AND Spanish. Care should be taken so that engagements with local cultural and arts organizations are truly transparent, inclusive, and sincere; not just an extractive exercise of personal and professional networks. It’s possible to instill a sense of local ownership and participation, even in a federally-driven project. The policy, panel makeup, and percent-for-art allocation was a given; but the process to curate the right panel representatives, the appropriate and interested artists to consider, and strategy to allocate the total percent-for-art commission needed an acupuncture approach that was tailored to the task at hand—a commission that’s truly Puerto Rican.
GSA’s fifty-year legacy with the Art in Architecture program is no accident. It’s survived policy challenges, administration changes, audits, and public scrutiny; but, the artwork has remained the central focus. GSA continues to strike the right balance of foundational piles of policy without piling on superfluous process. GSA’s percent-for-art program continues to be one of the most visible, most impactful, and most favorite programs authored by our national government. The Art in Architecture program is more than a quality collection. It’s the people’s collection. It’s a landscape for America’s artistic voice. It’s a tapestry of national representation reaching far beyond a singular community, yet quilted by local influence.
Seek out the public artworks at GSA facilities in your community. Check out the commissions at your local U.S. Courthouse, Federal Building, or U.S. Land Port of Entry. Make it a destination on your next trip. Or explore the full collection online at art.gsa.gov. Research the architects of these spaces and the artists commissioned for the public art. Look up the names after which some of these buildings are dedicated. Engage with the public-ness of the highest aspirations of our Federally commissioned public buildings, public art, and public services. In short, enjoy them.
David Polk, AIA is an artist, adjunct, and public architect currently serving as the Regional Chief Architect for the U.S. General Services Administration Northeast and Caribbean Region. He oversees implementation of national Design Excellence policies while providing subject-matter expertise on architecture, public art, workplace, preservation, urban design, and real estate strategy. He’s worked on projects throughout the Americas, focusing on public, civic, and institutional projects.
He's taught across architecture, interior design, exhibition design, and urban design at schools across the east coast. And he has served as critic at various design schools and on various design juries including for the AIA New York Honors Committee, SAME National Design Awards, and SARA New York Design Awards. He holds degrees in architecture from the University of Utah and Virginia Tech and post-grad certificates from Cornell University and the Bauhaus.
Recently, David was named one of Building Design + Construction’s Top 40 under 40 and a NextCity Vanguard.