Title: Asheville Art Museum Expansion & Renovation
Location of Proejct: Asheville, NC
Project Completion Date: November 14, 2019
Firm Name: ARCA Design, PLLC

Short Description: The Asheville Art Museum is by equal measure new construction, renovation, and historic restoration. The parti is a monumental volume housing the permanent collection that appears to be suspended within a transparent enclosure. The massing echoes the museum’s mission: to both securely shelter while openly displaying art for all. The building is organized to improve way-finding and increase gallery space. The transparency of the facade is maximized by employing structural glazing, while perforated metal panels form a cradle for the zinc-clad permanent gallery. Light from the back-lit panel facade invites public participation at night even when the museum is closed.

Architect's Statement: Established in 1948, The Asheville Art Museum is the third oldest art museum in North Carolina. At the beginning of this century, the museum recognized a need for more gallery space, much improved way-finding, and for a new facility that was intentionally designed to display art and host an active, growing arts culture. For economic reasons, many non-profit institutions would have decided to build outside of the city. The Asheville Art Museum, however, was dedicated to remaining at their current location on the square, in the heart of Asheville, with a goal to further establish the city and the region as a significant arts community. This location resulted in a facility that is by equal measure new construction, renovation, and historic restoration, characteristic of the city itself. The constrained site shaped the museum footprint into a pinwheel-like configuration due to existing buildings on three of its boundaries with a road and park bordering the others. The parti materialized as a monumental volume, or secure box, housing the permanent collection suspended in a transparent enclosure, or glass case. This massing echoes the museum’s mission of being an institution that shelters significant works of art while inviting the community in to view and appreciate its contents.

The Design team organized the plans around a central circulation stair at the core of the building to improve way-finding, security and efficiency. The central, open stair, highlighted by a skylight, connects a sculpture gallery mezzanine to the various floor levels inherent in the three divergent structures. From the stair, patrons always have a visual reference that provides clear orientation for natural and efficient way-finding. At the base of the stair a single Docent can monitor access to all of the galleries. The transparency of the entry facade is maximized by employing clear structural glazing with a frit on the West elevation to control glare. The design team developed a perforated, back-lit, metal panel clad form, referred to as the “cradle”, that visually supports the zinc-clad permanent gallery volume. The glow from the back-lit wall and ceiling panels invites public participation even at night when the museum is closed.

The new facilities increased the museum’s gallery space by 70% and doubled the secure collection storage. Other features include: a new entrance atrium for special events and space to display large-scale artwork, a new gift shop and reception area, an interactive area for small children to discover art, and a rooftop café with a terrace overlooking the Pisgah mountain range. The expansion also provided much needed additional office, curatorial, and work spaces for staff. The Historic Pack Memorial Library that had previously served as the museum for seventeen years was crafted into a new education wing comprised of classrooms, art studio, reference library and board room.

The 60,000 SF project is composed of three distinct buildings: the West Wing entry addition, the East Wing temporary galleries and the Historic North Wing education and support areas. The West Wing is comprised of the reception gallery, museum store, central stair, children's interactive studio, sculpture gallery, permanent gallery, rooftop café, and terrace gallery. This new addition is constructed as a fully sprinklered type IIA fire protected steel frame structure utilizing significant moment frames to accommodate the long cantilever and large open spans. The exterior of the West Wing is clad in structural glazing along with zinc and limestone panels that form a rain-screen. The pattern of the zinc and limestone panels is derived from the Georgia marble façade of the Historic Pack Memorial Library. The East Wing, previously the location of the Health Adventure, now houses two temporary galleries, a catering kitchen, storage, curatorial suite, education offices and secure art storage. The existing building is also a fully sprinklered type IIA steel frame structure. The interior of the East Wing was completely gutted and renovated to accommodate the new museum program. The exterior is clad in brick that matches the adjacent Diana Wortham Theater.

The project is anchored by the historic North Wing that was initially constructed in 1926 as the Pack Memorial Library but repurposed as the Asheville Art Museum in 1992. The interior of the existing concrete structure, Type I construction today, was renovated to house a classroom, art studios, an art research library, board room, and museum offices. This project significantly updated and reconfigured the previous renovation. The new work required replacement of the existing sprinkler system and security system as well as lighting and HVAC. The white marble exterior, terracotta cornice, and existing wood framed windows were cleaned and restored to resemble to the building’s original condition.