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Akron Art Museum
A hovering “cloud” connects a new light-filled atrium and windowless gallery to an existing museum.
COOP HIMMELB(L)AU believes that art should flow out of the building and the city should flow inside. Rather than going to the museum simply to look at art, visitors are encouraged to engage in artistic discourse, attend music and arts festivals, or simply to pass the time. This belief led the firm to divide its addition to the Akron Art Museum into three parts: a “Crystal,” a “Gallery Box,” and a “Roof Cloud.”
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The Crystal serves as the main entry and operates as an orientation and connection space serving both the new and old buildings. It is a grand, flexible space that can also be used for banquets, arts festivals, and events hosted by outside organizations. The mass and location of the gallery box and high roof protect the southern-oriented Crystal glazing from direct sunlight. At the same time the reflectivity of the façade material raises natural light levels in the Crystal and reduces the need to power artificial light sources. Inside the Crystal, the architects and engineers created microclimate zones for heating and cooling. These different zones are determined by analyzing the type and anticipated length of occupancy in various areas of the crystal and are conditioned through both active and passive means. By eliminating the need to condition the entire volume in the Crystal, and by focusing the energy used to condition the space in the areas where people are located, operating costs and energy use are significantly reduced.
The Gallery Box provides an expansive space with very few columns that is extremely flexible and can accommodate different kinds of exhibitions. A large freight elevator brings oversized works to and from storage areas and serves as a link between the loading dock and Gallery Box. Daylight is eliminated in the galleries to protect the art inside.
The floors of the Gallery Box and Crystal are poured-in-place concrete slabs with water-filled tubes that supply heating and cooling. This radiant floor system is more efficient than forced air systems because it uses the mass of the concrete as a storage device that delivers a stable, continuous source of heating and cooling.
The Roof Cloud, which hovers above the building, creates a blurred edge to the museum while also providing shade for exterior spaces and operating as a horizontal landmark in the city.
Formal name of project: Akron Art Museum
Location: Akron, Ohio
Gross square footage: Floor Area: 6.045 m2, Site Area: 8.370 m2
Total construction cost: $20 million
Completion Date: June 2007
OwnerClient:
Akron Art Museum
Architect:
COOP HIMMELB(L)AU
Wolf D. Prix/ W. Dreibholz & Partner ZT GmbH
Spengergasse 37
A – 1050 Wien
Tel: +43 1 546 60
Fax.: +43 1 546 60 600
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