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
![Rendering courtesy Work Program Architects](/sites/default/files/inline-images/CMGS_Exterior22-08-10_Rendering_Sloped-Walk-edit-2000.png)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/CMGS_Exterior22-08-10_Rendering_Axon-from-East-2000.png)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/CMGS_Exterior22-08-10_Rendering_Duke-at-Grace-2000.png)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/CMGS_Exterior22-08-10_Rendering_Duke-at-Brambleton-2000.png)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Entry-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Reception-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Gift-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Ramp-to-Existing-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Existing-Hot-Shop-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Outdoor-Hot-Shop-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Lobby-toward-Theater-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Lobby-Toward-Reception-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Theater-Entrance-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Theater-looking-North-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Theater-Balcony-looking-North-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Theater-Balcony-Looking-South-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Balcony-Toward-Theater-1280.jpg)
![Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking](/sites/default/files/inline-images/21-10-28_Balcony-toward-Reception-1280.jpg)
Related Stories
| Dec 19, 2013
Mastering the art of crowd control and visitor flow in interpretive facilities
To say that visitor facility planning and design is challenging is an understatement. There are many factors that determine the success of a facility. Unfortunately, visitor flow, the way people move and how the facility accommodates those movements, isn’t always specifically considered.
| Dec 13, 2013
Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety
From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Nov 27, 2013
BIG's 'oil and vinegar' design wins competition for the Museum of the Human Body [slideshow]
The winning submission by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and A+ Architecture mixes urban pavement and parkland in a flowing, organic plan, like oil and vinegar, explains Bjarke Ingels.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 26, 2013
Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November
Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.
| Nov 25, 2013
Building Teams need to help owners avoid 'operational stray'
"Operational stray" occurs when a building’s MEP systems don’t work the way they should. Even the most well-designed and constructed building can stray from perfection—and that can cost the owner a ton in unnecessary utility costs. But help is on the way.
| Nov 19, 2013
Top 10 green building products for 2014
Assa Abloy's power-over-ethernet access-control locks and Schüco's retrofit façade system are among the products to make BuildingGreen Inc.'s annual Top-10 Green Building Products list.
| Nov 13, 2013
Installed capacity of geothermal heat pumps to grow by 150% by 2020, says study
The worldwide installed capacity of GHP systems will reach 127.4 gigawatts-thermal over the next seven years, growth of nearly 150%, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.
| Nov 13, 2013
First look: Renzo Piano's addition to Louis Kahn's Kimbell Art Museum [slideshow]
The $135 million, 101,130-sf colonnaded pavilion by the famed architect opens later this month.