REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS – MORRIS CANCER CENTER
Commission Opportunity – SCULPTURE
COMMISSIONING ENTITY
RUTGERS CANCER INSTITUTE OF NEW JERSEY (RCINJ)
in partnership with
NEW BRUNSWICK DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (DEVCO), New Brunswick, NJ
BUDGET $450,000
DEADLINE February 12, 2023
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (RCINJ) is seeking an Artist or Artist Team to design and install site-specific feature artwork(s) for their new Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center. Developed in partnership with the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO), the 12 story, 520,000 square foot center is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in 2025 across from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the existing Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. It will serve as a hub for treatment, patient services and research in a first-of-its-kind facility in New Jersey.
Designed around a four-story atrium lobby that spans the depth of the building and serves as its town square, the hospital will invite visitors into a space filled with ample natural light and lush plantings. This welcoming, biophilic environment has been designed to enhance the well-being of patients, visitors, clinicians and staff.
The lobby will be accessible at street level from the north side via a new North Drive being developed as part of the project and from the south via Somerset Street. A spiral staircase will anchor the north atrium space, connecting the third floor to the first floor lobby. The stairs will continue one flight down on the south side through a large cut away in the lobby floor, providing visibility and allowing natural light from the upper floors into the lower level.
To accelerate the delivery of leading cancer therapies and treatment, the building also includes state- of-the-art laboratories on the second floor and clinical trial labs on the third. Interactions with patients building-wide will also contribute to these trials. The ability to translate scientific findings from ‘bench to bedside’ and back to the laboratory will provide physician-scientists with more immediate feedback on clinical trials. In an effort to put “science on display” for patients and visitors, the labs were designed to have as much openness as possible, fostering collaboration and flexibility while creating a bright, comfortable environment.