TEACHING MUSEUM

THE TEACHING MUSEUM

Programmed to be a campus of creativity, the Teaching Museum is a public facility dedicated to the performance, housing, teaching, and practice of art. The location of the large complex is an exposed hillside adjacent to the historical Peters Cartridge Factory in Kings Mills, OH.

My approach for organizing the layout of the required spaces is largely based on the design of the Kresge College campus, which scatters buildings among the hillside to invoke a village-like feeling. The distances between buildings in the Teaching Museum were condesned and expanded to create street- and plaza-like conditions, the former between more private spaces where congregation might be discouraged, and the latter outside buildings housing large public spaces. This enabled the deisgn of the landscape between buildings to take a more sculptural form.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

As the site of the structure features a fairly dramatic slope and minimal built context, the choice to incorporate greenroof terraces complemented the stepping topography as well as the surrounding natural environment. These terraces created new outdoor spaces, which allowed the programs of interior spaces to diffuse out into the plazas; in the case of the learning galleries, an adjoining sculpture garden terrace allows for art to be displayed outside, and in the community maker space, an outdoor workshop draws patrons outside.

Material choices for the museum were inspired by the neighboring cartridge factory. The factory features brick as both a facade material, as well as a sculptural element. This idea is recycled, substituting staggered wood fins for the brick. The wood functions as cladding to the museum, while also creating screen-like enclosures to shelter the buildings’ main entrances.