RFQ Proposals for Architectural Services Now Being Accepted
A final decision on where to locate the new Valdez Museum & Historical Archive (VMHA) was made at the regular Valdez City Council meeting on February 18, 2020 when council members passed a resolution to establish the geographic location for the expansion and consolidation of the Valdez Museum facilities. Since then Museum Board and Staff have consulted with the City of Valdez to solicit proposals from architectural firms for their services in drafting a design for the project. Here are excerpts from the final Request for Qualifications (RFQ):
The purpose of this document is to solicit qualifications from professional architect and engineering consultants to provide design services, permitting support, construction administration, and public outreach related to the planning, fundraising, and design of a new Valdez Museum.
A new museum project is expected to assist the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive (VMHA) in meeting their goals of housing all collections under one roof and enable the staff to effectively operate the Museum in a sustainable and efficient manner as outlined in the 2016 Master Interpretative Plan.
The City reserves the right to select the qualified firm and/or firms deemed most beneficial to the City. The Consultant will report to a City Project Manager and will be responsible for assisting with design development and value engineering where applicable. All applicable survey, design, permitting, and public outreach (web, social media, town hall, etc.), shall be considered inclusive of this contract. Firms should pay special attention to means and methods of creatively and effectively communicating project milestones and effectively incorporating the Master Interpretative Plan into a cohesive and sustainable facility that meets the VHMA mission to preserve, present, and interpret the heritage and culture of Valdez, the Copper River Basin, and Prince William Sound, Alaska.
- Selection Process
Submissions will be rated using a two-step process. Scores from step two are independent from, and supersede step one.
- Responses will be received by the City’s Capital Facilities office and will be scored by a panel of City and VMHA representatives. Additional representatives selected to participate in the scoring process may include outside consultants, City Council Members and Museum Building Committee Members. Scoring guidelines are outlined in section E (100 points max per evaluator).
- Shortlisted consultants may be interviewed and ranked for selection depending on necessity.
The RFQ was released to the public in mid-March 2020, and the submission deadline had been set for April 7, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the deadline has been extended until sometime in June, 2020 according to Nathan Duval, Capital Facilities Director for the City of Valdez.
