Request for Qualifications: Art Installations at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa

Bird’s eye view of the Integrated Treatment Centre from southwest

Request for Qualifications
Art Installations for the New Integrated Treatment Centre at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario – Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre

Submission Deadline: Friday, November 14, 2025, 2pm ET

The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario – Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre (CHEO) is building a new Integrated Treatment Centre on the main campus in Ottawa. The new six-story 220,000 square foot building will improve care and increase access for kids and youth living with complex, medical, developmental, behavioral and mental health needs.

The building design is inspired by, both, innovative models of care and the surrounding region’s landscape and natural environment. CHEO plans to integrate vibrant, therapeutic art installations that will express welcome, connecting and appealing to people of all ages, abilities, cultures and backgrounds.

The center’s program of art installations will be developed in two phases. The first phase will include three significant artworks that are integrated with the building and construction process and that will be completed by the end of 2027.

With this Request for Supplier Qualification (“RFSQ”) issued by Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario – Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre (“CHEO”), CHEO invites invitation to prospective, experienced, and qualified Artists (“Proponents”) to submit for the provision of three distinct significant art installations.

Note: This invitation is the first stage of a two-stage process: Stage 1 Request for Supplier Qualifications (RFSQ). CHEO intends to follow this RFSQ with a Stage 2 Request for Proposals (RFP) that will be issued to Artists/Artist-led Teams who are short-listed following Stage 1 evaluations.

Project Requirements

The three Phase 1 art installations are imagined and summarized as follows.

1. Entry Walls

The new building will have two main entries, one on Level 1 or Ground Level (southwest side of the building) and one on Level 2 opposite the main entry to the existing hospital (northeast side of the building.) Both entries are marked with walls clad in courses of Canadian limestone that begin outside and carry on into the entry vestibules. Integrated in these walls are low, shallow recesses designed to accept continuous, textural/tactile bands of art that will welcome, engage and delight children as they enter and leave the centre.

2. Lobby Mobile

This large, suspended installation above the lobby feature stair connecting Levels 1 and 2 will be a signature work in the new centre, visible to everyone entering the building. Serving as an evocative interior “landmark”, the artwork will be a metaphor for hope, transformation and collective belonging.

3. Lobby Mural

On Level 1, in the lobby adjacent to the Café and visible from the Level 1 entry is a long wall designated for a mural. This is a busy space, strategically located outside a large room that will accommodate a whole variety of youth-focused therapeutic programs and activities.

Ground view of the Integrated Treatment Centre east elevation from north driveway

Eligibility

Artists or Artist-led teams interested in these opportunities will have experience with large scale installations working in varied artistic mediums. Artists will have the professional skills to develop a strong overall conceptual framework, consult and collaborate with the project team regarding logistical and technical parameters, engage with children, families and staff in co-creation processes, and be responsible for fabrication/construction, delivery and installation. Artists will also be responsible to retain and consult with their own engineers and/or technicians, as required, to ensure and certify that their installations are completely sound and safe and meet all applicable building code requirements.

CHEO is committed to providing opportunities for meaningful engagement and co-creation with children and families. CHEO is open to ideas – strategies and activities – that Artists may propose based on their conceptual approach and/or unique, creative experience.

CHEO hopes that the Artists/Artist-lead Teams who are commissioned to create installations will live/work in or have a connection to the regions and people that the hospital serves. These include Ontario, the Outaouais region straddling Ontario and Quebec, the surrounding traditional lands of the Indigenous and Métis peoples, and the communities of the Inuit people who travel from the far north for care and services at CHEO.

Compensation

• The total budget range for the two (2) Entry Wall installations is $750,000 to $850,000
• The budget range for the Lobby Mobile is $200,000 to $250,000
• The budget range for the Lobby Mural is $200,000 to $250,000

Selection Process

The specific criteria that will be used in evaluating the merits of the Submissions are listed below. The criteria are weighted to a total of 100 points and as outlined below. Only Artists that score above 70% on the Evaluation Criteria will be eligible to submit a proposal in Stage II.

Overview of Technical Submission Evaluation Criteria:

• 1.3.1 Expression of Interest (20 points)
• 1.3.2 Experience and Qualifications (40 points)
• 1.3.3 Relevant Work (40 points)

Maximum points available for Technical Submission: 100

Submission Requirements

Full details of the RFSQ and submission requirements are published on Bonfire. Submissions, including all required documents, will be accepted via Bonfire (only): Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) – Art Installations

Submission Deadline: Friday, November 14, 2025, 2pm ET

For additional information or questions, please contact:
Alma Prins, questions@cheo.on.ca

Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario – Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre
401 Smyth Road
Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1
www.cheo.on.ca

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Accessibility: For more information, visit Accessibility – CHEO