LAND studio is partnered to bring art to an unexpected place: the new Third District Police Station. The new station recently opened its doors to the public and houses the Third District police force on Chester Avenue near East 55th Avenue. Home to over 300 police officers, the building sits on a four-acre campus and hopes to achieve LEED green building status.
 
Through community process and selection, two Cleveland based artists, Laura Cooperman and Bob Rose of Rose Iron Works, LLC have joined forces to enhance the new headquarters as a part of the City of Cleveland’s percent for arts program in partnership with LAND studio.
 
Laura Cooperman, widely known for her white-on-white cut-out paper pieces, has created a painted, cut-steel archway over the main entrance. The work will be back-lit, illuminating a scene that projects to the surrounding neighborhood. While not direct references, visitors may recognize some neighborhood landmarks in Laura’s cutouts as similar to many of the neighborhood’s trees, churches and schools. Cooperman, whose work is most often exhibited in traditional gallery settings, was able to bring her detailed cut-out technique to an architectural scale through a collaboration with local fabricator, Signature Sign Co.
 
Two light fixtures flank the entryway, designed and fabricated by Bob Rose and Rose Iron Works. Standing at 8 feet tall and 300 lbs each, the words “protect” and “serve” wrap the lights, representing the essence and mission of Cleveland Police officers throughout the City of Cleveland.
 
The new building will serve as a resource for the surrounding community as the only station in the city with a community room open to hold meetings. The art of Laura Cooperman and Bob Rose helps to bridge the divide between the community and the institution of the Cleveland Police by providing a welcoming presence and front door to Chester Avenue. Both pieces complement and honor the work and service of the officers inside.
 
Through the percent for arts program, LAND studio works with artists to bring public art enhancements to City of Cleveland capital projects. 1.5% of a project’s budget over $300,000 is devoted to a public art component of the project. Other City of Cleveland capital projects that LAND studio has partnered on include the Crooked River Skatepark, the chair-back bike racks along Larchmere’s Streetscape and West 6th Streetscape.