Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art
In contrast to the historic building, the museum remodel inserts a long entry wall, reception desk and moveable displays into the exsiting space to reorganize the interior. The design of main museum wall plays off of the lone window on the north wall- the only window inside the boundries of the gallery itself. Using this window the wall is ‘pulled’ from its location using the windows thickness and width to define the wall proportions. The wall extends 30 feet into the space dividing the entry lobby from the gallery. The wall stops just before the window allowing the light to bounce off of its face and into the gallery and the museum store. Light from the north continues throughout the length of the wall as light shelves in the museum store and entry into the museum itself. The light becomes the threshold that one must pass through to enter into the exhibit space of the museum. This simple design allows the art to be the focus of the museum while creating a subtle backdrop of light that changes throughout the day and over the course of the seasons. The reception desk and museum store fixtures take on simple shapes to support the changing light and allow the patrons to focus on the art.
Images and Plans
Technical Description
Innovation for the project was achieved through flexibility and materiality. The first objective was to give the museum a space that allowed for multiple configurations. This meant that the walls of the space had to be moveable. Through design collaboration between the students, engineers and instructors a mobile wall system was designed to allow 9’-0” high x 8’-0” wide wall to move easily and freely in the space. The unique challenge was the 120 year old building. The floors were anything but level but the wall, when fixed, needed to be true and plumb. This was achieved through a thick wall with six casters at the base that mimics a bellhop cart. The cart only rest on four casters when in motion allowing the wall to move easily and swivel in any direction, at any time. When the wall is set in place four adjustable feet drop from each of the four corners allowing the wall to be leveled in any direction and locking it into place. In order to cover up this mobile mechanism, so it does not distract from the artwork, a steel toe-kick is attached once the wall is fixed in place.
The materiality was also an important consideration for the project. When possible the materials sourced were local, sustainable, and recycled. The design also went to great lengths to reduce the amount of waste through its design. The fixed wall and mobile walls were designed on a 4’-0” module to utilized a 2’-0” lumber spacing and 4’-0” plywood sheathing. This significantly reduced the number of cuts and hence the amount of energy and wasted in the project. The framing for all the walls was LSL lumber to ensure straight, museum quality construction. The bracing and non-structural wood was all done using pine beetle kill lumber. The reception desk in the lobby was made from a damaged piece of stainless steel and reclaimed ash.
