The current side of Bowen Hall that faces High Street is bland and empty. The current design entails a façade that has three dark gray rectangles that resemble garage doors on the first floor. These appear to be unwelcoming and do not catch the eye of any passerby. With the implication of a stronger art presence, this area could be livened with the use of bright colors. This would encourage pedestrians as well as those driving by in cars to look at the building and allow it to stand out amongst the others. When viewing the plaza across the street, it has a basic color scheme, and does not look inviting. The plaza does not have any features that draw pedestrians or street traffic in, and by adding art to this area, it would allow this space to be brighter, and encourage people to stop by.
On the façade of Bowen Hall, there could be murals placed on each rectangle that faces High Street. The middle rectangle would be of what appears to the viewer to be a postcard that has “Welcome to COLUMBUS” on it in large letters. Each letter in “Columbus” would contain a different aspect of the city. This would largely include landmarks such as the reindeer, the Shoe, etc. The neighboring rectangles would contain campus related art, such as Brutus and the block “O” on solid backgrounds to encourage school spirit since the murals would be on campus. This art would draw the eyes of passerby, and encourage pedestrians to take photos with the murals, which would then bring in revenue as others would want photos with the murals as well.
The plaza across the street could be revitalized by adding in overhead lighting and a mural to the pedestrian wall that separates the sidewalk from the plaza. The overhead lighting would include bright lanterns. This would allow for a brighter atmosphere at night, increasing safety of the area. The mosaic along the sidewalk would bring color to the area that would contrast the currently matching color of the building behind. This would provide vibrant colors in the glass that would draw in the eye of those passing by. This could also allow for a ‘photo opportunity’ to aid in bringing in revenue. It makes a once boring plaza into something memorable.
In order to implement the first option, OSU or an alumni could provide funding. The reasoning behind this funding would be to bring more school spirit into the area as well as to bring in future revenue. With OSU’s approval, a pervious graduate art student could accomplish completing the murals. This allows for the art to be placed in the community and completed by someone in the community. For the plaza, the funding could come from OSU or the Ohio Stater Student Housing building in the plaza to aid in bringing in potential customers. The lanterns for the lighting would be designed by a local artist in Columbus, and the mosaic would be completed by either a local artist or even art students at OSU. Due to all of the new buildings being added to High Street, the new developers could be required to give a small portion of their profits to these projects as well to renew these older areas to account for any potential revenue that could be lost to the newer buildings.