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New York architect Steven Holl has unveiled designs for a new institute for contemporary art at the Virginia Commonwealth University campus in Richmond.
The facility will accomodate exhibition and performance spaces for art, theatre, music and dance, including a 240-seat auditorium, classrooms and a series of outdoor plazas.
A double height forum will form the centre of the building, from which two gallery wings with separate entrances will surround and frame an outdoor sculpture garden and cafe.
Pre-weathered zinc will be used to clad the building, while large walls of translucent glazing will allow light to filter inside.
The building is scheduled to open in 2015.
Construction is also underway on a new sports centre by the architect for Columbia University, which you can see here.
Here’s some more information from Steven Holl Architects:
Virginia Commonwealth University Unveils Design for New Multidisciplinary Arts Institution Designed by Steven Holl Architects
Institute for Contemporary Art Will Serve as a Catalyst for Exhibitions, Programs, Research and Collaboration, Working With VCUarts Top Public University Graduate Arts & Design Program in the U.S.
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) today unveiled the design for a new Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) designed by Steven Holl and Chris McVoy. Part exhibition and performance space, part lab and incubator, the 38,000-square-foot building will feature a series of flexible programming spaces for the presentation of visual art, theater, music, dance and film by nationally and internationally recognized artists. The facility also encompasses a 240-plus seat performance space, outdoor plazas, a sculpture garden, classrooms, a café and administrative offices. Scheduled to open in 2015, this non- collecting institution is designed to facilitate the way artists are working today by accommodating the increasing lack of barriers among different media and practices, mirroring the cross-disciplinary approach at VCU’s School of the Arts (VCUarts). VCUarts has long been the top public university graduate arts and design program in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report. The ICA will complement and enhance the offerings of VCU while also serving as a new destination for contemporary arts and culture in the region.
Steven Holl Architects’ design for the ICA will be presented in an exhibition opening April 26 at New York’s Meulensteen gallery. “Forking Time” includes more than 30 study models and concept drawings that depict the design’s evolution.
“The ICA will be a transformational resource for arts education, experimentation and for the enhancement of VCU and Richmond as a capital city committed to the arts,” said Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao. “The ICA brings a vital new dimension to us as a national research university, providing highly motivated students with opportunities to engage the arts in their learning experiences and to work across a range of disciplines. Steven Holl Architects’ design captures our global vision and commitment to human excellence. We look forward to the dynamic collaborations that the ICA will spark at VCU, within the region and around the world.”
Sited at the corner of Belvidere and Broad Streets directly off of Interstate 95, and one of Richmond’s busiest intersections, the ICA will form a gateway to the University and the city. The ICA will feature dual entrances— one facing Richmond and the other fronting VCU’s campus. At the heart of the building will be an inviting, double-height “forum,” a flexible space for both spontaneous encounters and planned events that connects to the ground-floor performance space and also opens to the sculpture garden and cafe. The galleries radiate out from the forum in forked arms, shaping the space of the garden. Large pivot doors open to the garden in order to create a seamless interplay between interior and exterior spaces. The open circulation serves to remove the formal protocols associated with entering traditional arts facilities. The three levels of galleries are linked through the open forum, allowing artists to create works that extend across, and visitors to circulate through, the spaces via a variety of paths. The ICA’s exterior walls of pre-weathered satin-finish zinc will complement its urban setting. Additional clear and translucent glass walls will create transparency, bringing natural light into the building during the day and radiating light at night, signaling the activities taking place within.
“We have designed the building to be a flexible, forward-looking instrument that can illuminate the transformative possibilities of contemporary art,” said architect Steven Holl. “Like many contemporary artists working today, the ICA’s design does not draw distinctions between the visual and performing arts. The fluidity of the design allows for experimentation, and will encourage new ways to display and present art that will capitalize on the ingenuity and creativity apparent throughout the VCU campus.”
“The ICA will be a catalyst for new kinds of artistic explorations and discourse for the VCU community while contributing to the national and international conversation in the arts. It will allow us to mount large-scale exhibitions, installations and commissions in all media,” said Joseph H. Seipel, dean of VCU’s School of the Arts. “We envision that the ICA will become a new destination and the building will serve as a beacon for contemporary art and ideas.”
In advancement of VCU’s commitment to science, technology, and environmental responsibility, the ICA’s design incorporates many environmentally-friendly elements, making use of natural resources whenever possible. This includes the use of geothermal wells to provide heating and cooling energy for the building, green roofs to absorb storm water and maximize insulation, and glass walls designed to exhaust heat in the summer and harness it in the winter. The project is designed to meet LEED platinum certification standards. BCWH is the architect of record in Richmond.
The ICA will serve as a cornerstone of Richmond’s already vibrant arts community, joining the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Science Museum of Virginia, the Virginia Opera, Barksdale Theatre, Richmond Ballet and the Richmond Symphony. VCUarts is one of the nation’s leading arts schools, with distinguished alumni and noted artists on faculty across its more than 16 areas of study at campuses in Richmond and Qatar. VCU is also home to the Anderson Gallery, which for 35 years has organized and presented exhibitions, programs and publications that explore a broad range of currents in contemporary art and design.
A capital campaign is underway for the $32 million project, with $14 million raised to date, including two lead gifts of $5M apiece from Kathie and Steve Markel and Pam and Bill Royall, who together chair the ICA’s Campaign Committee. A director search is in process.
Rural Studio alumni Marie and Keith Zawistowski led 17 students of the Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design in the design and assembly of a farmers market shelter in Covington, Virginia.
All produce sold at the market is sourced from within 100 miles and the same principle was applied when selecting construction materials.
The structures comprises a long canopy shaped like the wing of a plane.
The faceted pine roof is covered with sheets of steel, while reclaimed oak and pine were used to fabricate the frame.
An office, storage room and toilets are located beneath the canopy at the rear of the timber deck and are coated in blackboard paint.
The pioneering undergraduate programme Rural Studio was co-founded by the late architect Samuel Mockbee, who is the subject of a 60-minute documentary released last year – see our earlier Dezeen Wire here.
Here’s a more detailed description of the project from design/buildLAB:
Covington Farmers Market
134 W Main Street, Covington, VA 24426
Program Description
The design/buildLAB is a third year architecture studio at the Virginia Tech, School of Architecture + Design focused on the research, development and implementation of innovative construction methods and architectural designs. Students collaborate with local communities and experts to develop concepts and propose solutions to real world problems.
The goal of this course is to teach students the skills necessary to confront the design and realization of architecture projects, with a consciousness for social and environmental issues. By removing the abstraction from the making of architecture, the course engages students’ initiative and encourages them to ask fundamental questions about the nature of practice and the role of the architect.
By framing the opportunity for architecture students to make a difference in the life of a community, the hope is to show them the positive impact Architecture can make and inspire them to high professional ethics.
Program Funding
The project budget was $150,000 which was primarily funded by a $119,000 grant from the Alleghany Foundation.
In addition, substantial contributions were made in support of the project by local contractors and material suppliers, as well as national and international companies. These include material donations, in-kind contributions or substantial discounts on the purchase of products or materials. The students solicited donations, ordered materials, and managed the project budget.
Project Design
During the fall semester, the students spent a number of weeks studying existing Farmers Markets around Virginia – which they visited – and around the world – which they studied through publications, drawings and photographs. Using that information, a list of requirements given to them by the client and their own interviews of the Covington Farmers Market vendors, the students were able to establish guidelines and specific requirements for the project.
All 17 students first made individual design propositions for the project. From those, a master plan was determined then a design for the building. In this way, all of the students contributed ideas to the discussion. It was very important from a pedagogical perspective that not one “scheme” was chosen. Rather, they collaborated to develop the final design for the project.
The project is conceived as 3 parts: Ground Plane, Occupied Space, and Pavilion Roof. All component parts are based on a 10’ wide module to facilitate prefabrication and transportation to the site. At the scale of the town, the building reads as a seamless gesture. At the scale of the occupant, the details express the modular construction. A locust deck serves as the market floor. It folds up to allow the nesting of an office, storage room and toilet room. It extends beyond the market and into a sloped earth park to provide a stage and seating. A sculptural roof and ceiling of reclaimed heart-pine and galvanized sheet steel floats over-head.
This market pavilion is the modern expression of timeless agrarian sensibilities.
Sustainability
Because all goods sold at this market are required to be produced within a 100 mile radius, this distance became a goal for the procurement of construction materials. Essential to this approach was the use of recycled building material in the construction, in particular the re-use of wood salvaged from an old barn in a neighboring town. Additional, new lumber, including locust decking and yellow pine cladding for the project were sourced from locally sawn timbers.
Digital fabrication played a substantial role in the sustainability of the project by maximizing structural efficiency and minimizing waste.
In terms of limiting water and energy use, the project incorporates a rain water collection system, LED lighting and natural ventilation. A 1200 gallon cistern collects water from the roof and is used for watering the park and flushing toilets. LED lighting ensures long bulb life and extremely low energy consumption. Further, the pavilion roof was designed with an inverted ceiling to facilitate stack effect ventilation and eliminate the need for mechanical cooling.
Finally, the asphalt surface from the site’s previous parking lot was milled and stored through construction to be repurposed as a new permeable, compacted, parking area.
Prefabrication
The students prefabricated the Market structure, including floor, conditioned buildings, and pavilion roof at VA Tech’s Environmental Systems Laboratory. A local contractor was hired to complete the foundations and utility connections. This allowed for two phases of construction, site work and framing, to happen simultaneously. In total, the students prefabricated and assembled the structure in less than four months. The efficiency of working in a controlled environment, with easy access to tools and equipment was essential in achieving the schedule of one academic year.
Project Recognition
The Covington Farmers Market was awarded a 2011 Design Excellence Award from the Virginia Society AIA.
Design and Construction: design/buildLAB
Student Design Team: Anne Agan, Emily Angell, Zachary Britton, Chris Cromer, German Delgadillo, Chris Drudick, Cody Ellis, Jacob Geffert, Rachel Gresham, Shannon Hughes, Elizabeth Madden, Ryan McCloskey, Andrew McLaughlin, Brett Miller, Elizabeth Roop, Erin Sanchez, Sara Woolf
Professors: Marie Zawistowski, Architecte DPLG – Professor of Practice, Keith Zawistowski, Assoc. AIA, GC – Professor of Practice
Structural Engineer: Draper Aden and Associates – Dave Spriggs, PE
Owner: City of Covington, 333 W Locust Street, Covington, VA 24426
Project Timeline: Design – Fall 2010, Construction – Spring 2011
Major Materials: Locally Sawn Locust Decking, Reclaimed Heart Pine Ceiling, Reclaimed Oak and Pine Framing, Flat-Lock Galvalume Metal Roofing, Traxon LED Lighting, Toto Plumbing Fixtures, VT Industries Doors, Assa Abloy Hardware, Marvin Windows
Project Budget: $150,000 ($119,000 grant was provided by the Alleghany Foundation)
Software: Rhino 3D (Educational Version), AutoCAD 2011 (Educational Version)
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