In Norfolk, Va., the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Perry Glass Studio, an educational facility for glassmaking, will open a new addition this summer. That will be followed by a renovation of the existing building scheduled for completion this winter.
The design by Work Program Architects clads the studio expansion in terracotta panels and brick veneer, referencing glass art’s firing process. A new transparent museum front welcomes visitors from all sides. It also creates a connection between the museum and the city’s downtown arts neighborhood, the NEON District. Visitors will be guided to NEON by a path decorated with a series of wayfinding glass “breadcrumbs.”
As soon as they enter, visitors will see the furnaces of the theater-style performance hot shop, which allows artists to work with glass in its molten state. A focal point, the hot shop will display the art of glassblowing. The glassmaking studios (including flat, flame, cold, and mold shops), wood and metal shops, and classrooms will offer artists space to hone their craft, while also allowing visitors to explore glass art.
A roof terrace offers views of the Chrysler Museum, the Hague, and the Elizabeth River. The project also includes an event space, retail area, and catering kitchen.
In light of the area’s recurring flooding events, the new addition has been raised four feet above the existing glass studio to keep it above the floodplain.
The design’s other coastal resilience strategies include native, salt-tolerant plantings; cisterns to collect rainwater for summer irrigation; onsite water storage; new trees and protection of existing trees to absorb water; and landscaped areas that act as a green sponge.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Chrysler Museum of Art
Design architect and architect of record: Work Program Architects
Structural engineer: Speight Marshall Francis
Landscape architects: Stromberg Garrigan & Associates, WPL
Civil engineer: Timmons Group
PME engineer: Altieri Sebor Wieber
Theater/AV/acoustics: NV5
Geotechnical: GET Solutions, Terracon
Envelope: REI Engineers
Contractor: Hourigan
Related Stories
Museums | Oct 6, 2015
Columbus Museum of Art to open new wing at month's end
Created by the DesignGroup, the Margaret M. Walter Wing is part of a $36.7 million renovation project.
Museums | Sep 29, 2015
Designs unveiled for Warsaw Art Museum and Theatre
Emphasizing the building’s role in the public sphere, the museum will be accessible from all sides.
Museums | Sep 22, 2015
David Adjaye releases plans for Ruby City art gallery in San Antonio
San Antonio's Ruby City will hold 800 works of art in 10,000 sf of exhibition space.
Museums | Sep 21, 2015
Ma Yansong and Jeanne Gang revise Chicago lakefront Lucas Museum
New renderings of the proposed Lucas Museum show a scaled-down building on more green space.
Museums | Sep 16, 2015
First look: Diller Scofidio + Renfro's The Broad museum in Los Angeles
LA's newest art museum combines gallery space and collection storage based around two design concepts: the veil and the vault.
Museums | Sep 9, 2015
Bauhaus Museum Dessau names two design winners
The German museum chose one sleek, no-nonsense concept and one colorful, complex entry.
Libraries | Aug 27, 2015
Barack Obama Foundation begins search for presidential library architect
Both national and foreign firms will compete for chance to design the Chicago-based Presidential Center.
High-rise Construction | Aug 7, 2015
Tribute tower to cricket world champs will be Sri Lanka’s tallest
The 1996 Iconic Tower will be a tribute to the country’s cricket team, which won the World Cup in 1996.
Contractors | Jul 29, 2015
Consensus Construction Forecast: Double-digit growth expected for commercial sector in 2015, 2016
Despite the adverse weather conditions that curtailed design and construction activity in the first quarter of the year, the overall construction market has performed extremely well to date, according to AIA's latest Consensus Construction Forecast.
Museums | Jul 28, 2015
MUST SEE: Zaha Hadid's latest museum project is built into a mountain
The museum, dedicated to legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner, is embedded within Mount Kronplatz in northern Italy.
