Colorado State University Ft. Collins
Diagnostic Medicine Center

David Griggs; Denver, Colorado
Integrated Artwork
Budget: $265,000
Building to be completed summer 2009
David Griggs is the artist selected to work with the design team on the Diagnostic Medicine Center.  Works of art will be integrated into the architectural features of the building in such a way that they have a heightened presence and carry an embodied meaning.

From the Artists' Narrative-
"The public art design for the DMC was inspired by the activities that will take place within the new building. Expressed in 5 main elements of the facility, the artwork takes an environmental approach to representing Veterinary Sciences. These 5 elements are; the atrium terrazzo floor, the interior “egg” glass curtain wall, the exterior “link” glass, the atrium trellis planters, and the exterior hardscape paving pattern."

"One of the more artful techniques used in DMC lab work involves analyzing samples by spreading organic material on tissue culture plates. This is called “streaking plates”, and it results in the growth of bacteria or viruses, sometimes in exotic and beautiful formations, in petri dishes. The terrazzo floor design was inspired by these formations, and several images of streaked plates were combined in the design of the floor. The over-scaling of these images changes the dimensions of the design, suggesting celestial bodies and astronomical phenomena. While vastly different in proportion, these natural elements show similar patterns of growth.

The design for the trellis planters is a reworking of an original idea to bring large plantings into the DMC atrium. The shapes of these sculptural trellises were inspired by the gestural motions used in streaking plates, and then turned into 3-dimensional structures to support the growth of plants. Emerging from a large crescent shaped floor planter, the trellises will add to the representations of growth in the atrium space, as well as incorporating a new vertical element in this tall narrow space."