UW-Madison looking to ‘art up’ its Arboretum

By Jeff Moore

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum is recognized as the birthplace of ecological restoration — the process of returning an ecosystem or piece of landscape to a previous, usually more natural, condition.

Artistic Design Services for Site Specific Artwork, Commemorative Pieces, Signage Projects, and Marketing and Branding for University of Wisconsin Departments, Madison, Dane County

The first restored prairie is Madison’s Curtis Prairie, which is adjacent to the Arboretum Visitor Center. There are restored and remnant woodlands, savannas, prairies and wetlands on the 1,200 acres property, which is a research and education center of the UW-Madison Graduate School.

The first prairie plantings and first horticultural plantings occurred in 1935.

UW-Madison is currently soliciting proposals for Artistic Design Services for Site Specific Artwork, Commemorative Pieces, Signage Projects, and Marketing and Branding for University of Wisconsin Departments.

Part of the solicitation calls for design services for commemorative benches for the Arboretum, which has been celebrating its 75th anniversary. The design is to be used in commemorative benches to be placed in the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens and along paths throughout the ecological communities. The benches for this specific project will be sold as donor acknowledgments.

The Arboretum plans to place up to 40 benches around the grounds over a period of years. The benches will also be available to individuals to purchase for personal use through the Arboretum’s retail operations.

In addition to the above work, the Arboretum also anticipates the need for donor recognition elements and/or structures to be placed outdoors in the Longenecker gardens as part of the redevelopment and money-raising effort for the Gardens and Arboretum that will be compatible with the memorial bench design.

Design elements include the following: collection markers, visual screen and noise baffle at the air conditioning unit, display arbors (5), pavilion in the lilac/magnolia collection, belvedere in the Pinetum, specialized circular or octagonal benches in the rose garden, poet rocks, fencing to surround garden, accessible garden demonstration, Native American garden demonstration, Memorial Grove, and a restroom facility.

Interested bidders can call Crescent Kringle at (608) 262-5321, send a fax to (608) 262-4467 or e-mail ckringle@bussvc.wisc.edu.

Proposals are due at 2 p.m. on Nov. 23 to UW Purchasing, 21 N Park St., Suite 6101, Madison, WI 53715-1218

A proposers conference will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, in the Auditorium at Arboretum Visitor Center, 1207 Seminole Highway, Madison, to respond to questions and to provide any additional instruction to proposers on the submission of their proposal. The proposer must attend the conference in order for their proposal to be considered for an award.