A great art museum fosters outstanding encounters with art. Three principal design concepts distinguish a great art museum:
Every aspect of the museum should work in concert to prepare viewers for that “aesthetic moment” when a work of art speaks to them in purely visual, emotional, or intellectual terms. Every element, from the building’s massing down to the smallest details of the visitors’ experience, should be orchestrated to contribute to a positive encounter between the visitor and art.
A committed understanding of the fundamental importance of the qualities of light that enhance art and support the act of seeing. To experience art fully, proper lighting is absolutely essential. Appropriate selection of both indirect natural lighting and supplemental artificial lighting heightens the visitor’s experience, while responsibly protecting the art. Controlled use of natural light is also essential in other areas where it enhances activities, defines architectural space, and creates comfortable transitions from the exterior world to the gallery interiors.
Behind the scenes, flawless care and protection of the collection is critical. The spaces where the art enters the building, where it is stored, where it is viewed by scholars, curators and researchers and where all the other support functions occur, should similarly work in concert to meet the museum’s primary objectives.
The following is a selection of our art museum projects:
Louvre Museum
Paris, FranceReorganization Plan
Smithsonian Institution
Washington D.C.Planning and Reorganization for the National Museum of American Art, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Archives of American Art.
Smithsonian Institution
Washington D.C.Planning and Design of libraries, collections storage areas, offices, and gallery lighting for the Museum of African Art, the Sackler Gallery, and the Freer Gallery.
Contemportary Art Center of Virginia
Virginia Beach, VirginiaArchitect for new building
Tarble Arts Center
Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IllinoisArchitect for new building
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Hong Kong, ChinaArchitect for all permanent galleries
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Sarasota, FloridaMaster Planning and Architectural Design
Art Museum of Western Virginia
Roanoke, VirginiaPlanning and Conceptual Design
The Carnegie Museum of Art
Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaMaster Planning for expansion
Nelson Atkins Museum of Art
Kansas City, MissouriArchitectural Planning for expansion
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston, MassachusettsMaster Plans (1992 and 1999)
Colby College Art Museum
Waterville, MaineArchitect for expansion
High Museum of Art
Atlanta, GeorgiaArchitectural Planning and Programming for expansion
Wexner Center for the Arts
Columbus, OhioArchitectural Planning and design for major renovation
