Selection panel recommends Mark Forn pavilion for Richardson City Hall plaza; council asks for more detail

A city art selection panel has recommended a pavilion-style sculpture by Mark Forn for the hardscape plaza opposite the Civic Center fountain at Richardson’s new City Hall, with an estimated project budget of $850,000 funded through the city’s percent-for-art ordinance.

Meredith McKinley, who presented the panel’s work to the Richardson City Council on April 14, said the panel reviewed 111 artist applications, invited three finalists to visit Richardson and unanimously recommended Forn’s proposal, titled “Tornelle.” She told council the work is intended to echo the diameter of the fountain, provide a shaded, interactive gathering space and be installed near the end of City Hall construction in the fall of 2026.

The recommendation matters because the chosen artwork will occupy a prominent public plaza at the municipal complex and represents the city’s largest single public-art investment to date. The panel and the Cultural Arts Commission endorsed the design for its scale, references to local architectural history and its potential for programming and day‑to‑day use.

Forn’s concept is a large, thin‑aluminum canopy described by panelists as pavilion‑like…