CODAworx maintains a database of published projects, including many specific to commissioned works in settings that serve the public’s need for commercial air travel, automobile and rapid transit. Database entries describe commissioned art projects specific to airports, parking garages and transportation hubs. A review of entries within the last 36 months provides artists, commissioners, developers and architects with insight into the total, as well as the highest and median commission value of art installations occurring in these settings.

The article “The Art of Public Service” describes in detail how nearly a century ago, Frank Pick, chief administrator of the London Passenger Transport Board “worked to make the London Tube not just efficient but also aspirational — an environment that would add dignity and delight to the daily commute.” Pick’s commissioning of art and architecture for the Underground is described as prophetic for the role of art in spaces accommodating public transportation. “More than anyone it was Frank Pick who was responsible for advancing the new and progressive ideal that public transport ought to be more than a means of getting around and that the ever expanding network was an unparalleled opportunity to enhance the lives of London’s citizens.” writes the author.

Born in 1878, Pick ascribed to the tenets of the Arts and Crafts movement, arguing that art and aesthetics could counter the alienating effects of mass industrialization. Pick advocated for good design being essential to civic responsibility and commercial success. Thus, he worked to make the expanding London transit network efficient, accessible and aspirational — an environment that would add dignity and delight to the daily commute. 

In 2016, on the 75th anniversary of his death, a memorial was unveiled at the Tube station at Piccadilly Circus. The installation displays the words “beauty, immortality, utility, perfection, goodness, righteousness, truth, and wisdom,” taken from Pick’s notes for a speech. These guiding principles are perhaps universal to all artists and commissioners working to make beautiful the sometimes ordinary locales that are airports, parking garages and transportation hubs. Pick’s legacy can be seen in the public art programs now commonplace in transit spaces around the world. 

Commission Value — Airports, Parking Garages and Transportation Hubs

Commission profiles are described below according to total, highest and median values for all categories (266 entries with commissions totalling $68,715,316) and for each category individually. While commission values are important, a review of entries in the CODAworx database demonstrates how the artwork and design of individual projects honor Pick’s legacy by perhaps adding beauty, immortality, perfection, righteousness, truth and wisdom. They simultaneously  enhance the lives of those who pass by. Some of these, and the commission values specific to works in these transportation related locations, are profiled below.

Commission Value — Transportation Hubs

During the study period, Transportation Hubs accounted for the largest number of commissions (131). The projects in this category showed a total commission value of $34.6 million and a median commission fee of approximately $318,000. The largest commission ($5 million) occurred in this category. The North-South subway line, in the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, was embellished with large scale works in eight stations. Materials included glass, stone, LED screens and lighting, brick and concrete. The artists strove to thematically connect the natural route of the metro line through the city. The artists drew from the sights and sounds in the immediate city environment, increasing the sense of cohesion between the various stations.

One Transportation Hub project netted a commission value of $3.3 million; six projects had commission values between $1 million and $1.4 million. Representative of the $318,107 median fee is the project Stories Interweave in Aurora, CO. The work is a series of eight colorful lanterns suspended below a light rail line in the historic Colfax area. Each features the story of an immigrant or asylum seeker who has settled in the city. 

Commission Value — Airports

Airports accounted for the next highest total of commissions (103), resulting in approximately $25 million in fees. The largest commission was $4 million for the work Flight Paths at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Atlanta, GA. The installation represents a walk through the native Georgia forest. Utilizing lighting, video, scenery, projection and audio to create the environment, the soundscape covers 18,000 square feet of walkway between terminals. Two projects commanded commissions between $1.2 million and $1.5 million. The remainder were $900,000 or less.

The median commission was $411,955. Representative of the median installation is Luminous Stratum at the Dallas, TX Love Field Airport. Luminous Stratum was inspired by the contrails of aircraft, set against the colorful blue sky. The work features a 260 foot long sculpture composed of semi-translucent, white, Lexan fins, forming a contrail-like gesture. Multi-colored LEDs move down the length of the sculpture and then slowly dissipate, blend, and dissolve, much like the formation and dissipation of the clouds left behind by passing aircraft.  

Commission Value — Parking Garages

Total commissions (32 entries) approximated $9 million, with the largest $2.5 million. This commissioned work is 4th & 5th Delray, an exterior structure webbing wrap using ACM with Alum Skeleton structure. LED Wall wash lighting is affixed to the webbing with a color changing RGB capability. Two projects were in the range $1.5 million to $1.6 million. A third project had a commission of $800,000, while the remainder reported commissions of $500,000 or less. 

The largest median commission value ($411,955) occurred in this category. Helix Garage (Lexington, KY) has a commission value of $450,000 and is representative of the median value. The work covers an aging concrete parking structure with layered stainless steel. Shifting LED lighting makes for intriguing nighttime viewing. 

Publish Your Projects

CODAworx is a leading authority on commissioned art and maintains a comprehensive database of information regarding RFPs, commissioning entities, budgets, and awards. Tapping into this database enables CODAweekly to feature regular Industry Reports by design segment (commercial, hospitality, healthcare, etc.) that highlights top artists, trends in commission fees, and more.

We encourage you to add information to the CODAworx database by publishing a project to our Project Library or populate data on projects already in the database. Anyone involved in the collaborative process can publish a project on CODAworx. This includes the artist and creative teams, design professionals and other commissioners, and industry resources such as fabricators, engineers, installers, lighting designers, videographers, and more. Potential clients, commissioners, collaborators and your peers will get to know you and your work. They can contact you directly through the CODAworx messaging system.

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