MUSEUM of art
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2017 // Judson University, Prof. Thomas Jaeger
The city of Elgin, IL, is experiencing an urban rebirth. A developing river walk, a dynamic art scene & nightlife, and many new public spaces for festivals and leisure time signal the next step in the cities development: addressing it’s aging civic campus. Placing a new museum along the gateway to not only the campus, but also the city itself will enliven the urban fabric and create a vibrant new focal point along the river walk.
Beyond its role in invigorating the urban makeup of the city, as an institution of modern art, the exhibits of the museum will allow patrons to experience, learn, and advocate through art. Art has a power to teach so experiencing art and attending events in the museum are an opportunity to see another side of an issue. The museum itself compliments this idea, by alluding to that other side. The art can be seen by all from the outside, but only as a blurred image through the building envelope. Building intrigue and desire to explore what the gallery holds self-advertises the art, and entices viewers to explore the other side of the wall, as well as the other side of thought.
To that end the building is paradoxically overt and covert at once. In coquettish fashion it attempts to entice onlookers with it’s bold steel structure, while only allowing shadows of its contents through a veil of channel glass, and perforated screens. With only a vague understanding of the buildings contents from the exterior, the public may feel the urge to explore the other side. As passers-by give in to their curiosity, they embark on a journey of discovery which forces them to at first engage closely with the structure. By entering the lobby, and walking down the central corridor, patrons move through the structure, and engage with the elevators and mechanical cores hanging between each structural stanchion. As the user is drawn into the galleries they experience a reversal of what information is withheld and what is disclosed. From within the galleries the once dominating structure becomes shadows, and the once mysterious forms of the art itself come into focus. |
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CONSTRUCTION
The construction of the museum starts with piers extending down from the spine of steel stanchions that are embedded in a concrete pad. The perimeter then uses smaller grade beams. The weight of the roof and gallery is supported in tension from the steel "wing" trusses. Details like using the tension members to host the perforated exterior sun shading panels and using the lower chord of ceiling trusses as the lighting fixtures contributes to the overall idea of the building as a single mechanical and structural skeleton for housing and displaying art. |
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