July 12, 2004

Image courtesy Allied Works

On the heels of his recently completed Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Brad Cloepfil, principal of Portland, Oregon-based Allied Works Architecture, has designed a $35 million 57,000 square foot addition and renovation to the University of Michigan Museum of Art. This is his fourth museum commission in the last five years. Cloepfil’s latest project will double the museum’s current space and reinforce the museum’s site as a civic gateway to the Ann Arbor campus.

A direct connection to the university and its urban location is a critical factor in the Museum’s expansion. “One of our central goals has been to turn the Museum inside out, to make it dramatically more accessible to our students and the broad community,” said Museum director James Steward. Cloepfil’s design achieves this interplay through strategically placed transparent façades that allow for controlled views in and out of gallery spaces and public areas. At night, light emanating from the glass will make the addition a recognizable beacon.

“The expansion will serve as a catalyst for new activities and experiences,” said Cloepfil, “where the boundaries of art, life, and landscape merge to become one.”

The materials and scale of the addition will be sympathetic to the Beaux-Arts style of Alumni Memorial Hall, the Museum’s existing facility, slated to receive mechanical systems upgrades and general architectural restoration. The proposal will add a center for works on paper, a center for visiting scholars, improved visitor amenities and public gathering spaces, new gallery space, collections storage, study areas, an auditorium and an enlarged gift shop, as well as areas for outdoor art.

Ground will be broken for this project in 2006, with an expected completion date of 2008.

By Audrey Beaton

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