The Frederic Church Center A Hudson River School Vision
JUNE 2021
Peter Aaron/OTTO
DEAR SUPPORTERS AND FRIENDS, In this issue we focus in on the design of The Frederic Church Center itself. As the first piece of new construction at Olana since Frederic Church’s death, the center is in service to the historic buildings and environment that he created. Sited in a woodland setting along the entry drive off Route 9G, the one-story, 4,700-square-foot building will be screened from view by the natural topography and the lush woodland landscape designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz. The beauty of the setting is that, while the building is outside of, and invisible from, the core of Olana’s historic landscape, the Center provides direct access to one of Church’s designed landscape views. This view from the bottom of the lake up across parkland to the Main House and the ever-changing skyscape above will become the breathtaking first view of Olana. For the 80% of our visitors who are coming here for the first time, this will immediately immerse them in the experience of Olana as a holistic masterwork of art, architecture, and landscape. The Frederic Church Center will be the arrival point for visitors, addressing their most essential physical and psychological needs. This includes a substantial restroom facility, a ticketing lobby where they can learn about the day’s tours and special programs, a café, and a large multi-purpose space where they can relax and plan their day at Olana. 2
The café will cater to the number one request of our visitors, a cup of coffee, as well as light lunches and picnic packages to enjoy in the landscape. Audio-visual elements within the lobby and multipurpose space will familiarize visitors with Olana, Church, and the broader Hudson River School, preparing them for in-depth, first-hand experiences in the landscape, the farm, the Main House, and the Sharp Family Gallery. Many of these tours will depart from the lakeside terrace just up the path from the center, and visitors and the general public will be welcome to use the center for their own self-guided or recreational use of the park. The Frederic Church Center will transform the visitor experience, elevate public understanding of Church’s masterwork of landscape architecture, and strengthen the national reach and economic impact of Olana. Yours with appreciation,
Sean Sawyer, Ph.D. Washburn and Susan Oberwager President 3
This rendering of the Multi-Purpose Room shows daily use by visitors as they plan their time at Olana, while experiencing interpretive presentations and enjoying the adjacent café and access to the landscape and lakeside terrace. The room can also be used for lectures and special events.
Architecture Research Office/ Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects
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ABOUT THE ARCHITECTS In 2017, The Olana Partnership commissioned the New York City-based firm Architecture Research Office (ARO) to design The Frederic Church Center after a national search process. ARO’s principals, Adam Yarinsky and Kim Yao, stood out for their pragmatic but refined, research-based approach to design.
ARO site photography of Rothko Chapel, Houston, TX.
ARO is dedicated to architecture that unites beauty and form with strategy and intelligence. ARO’s distinguished portfolio includes the renewal of the Rothko Chapel and a campus expansion featuring the new Suzanne Deal Booth Welcome House in Houston, TX, the return of Dia Art Foundation’s New York City headquarters, an entry building at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and several projects at Brooklyn Bridge Park and Long Dock Park.
Visitors’ building at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY.
These projects demonstrate their principled approach to design: an elegant integration of sustainable materials and technical precision to create beautiful, purposeful architecture. This philosophy has earned the firm over one hundred design awards including the 2020 AIA Architecture Firm Award, the AIA New York State Firm of the Year Award, and the Smithsonian CooperHewitt National Design Award for Architecture.
The Kayak Pavilion, Long Dock Park, Beacon, NY.
Adam, Kim, and their team members have done a brilliant job of navigating the many challenges of this relatively small, but extremely critical, project. 6
“The Frederic Church Center will be a threshold to Church’s vision of Olana as a work of art uniting nature and culture.” — ARO Design Team
DESIGN TEAM PROFILE KIM YAO, AIA is Principal of Architecture Research Office. She holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from Columbia College: Columbia University and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University. Kim is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Architecture at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and has also taught at the School of Constructed Environments, Parsons, the New School for Design and Barnard College (2001-2011). Kim is on the Board for AIA New York and the Center for Architecture as the Immediate Past President of AIA New York. ADAM YARINSKY, FAIA LEED AP is Principal of Architecture Research Office. Adam holds an undergraduate degree in Architecture from the University of Virginia and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University. He has taught at Harvard University, The University of Michigan, Princeton University, Yale University, The University of Virginia, and other institutions. He has also lectured widely and written about ARO’s work in A+U, The Architect’s Newspaper, 306090, Dimensions, Places Journal, and elsewhere. Adam served on the board of Places Journal from 2012-2018, and he is on the University of Virginia School of Architecture Advisory Board.
Profile headshots ©2021 Architecture Research Office 7
Peter Aaron/OTTO
FREDERIC CHURCH CENTER FUNDRAISING $13.5 MILLION GOAL
$7.13 MILLION
THE OLANA PARTNERSHIP CAPITAL CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP Joe Baker | Betsy Broun | Steve & Renee Clearman Margaret Davidson| David de Weese The Gubelmann Family | Meredith J. Kane Bindy & Stephen Kaye | Cynnie & Peter Kellogg David Kermani | Robin & David Key Michael & Barbara Polemis | David & Susan Rockefeller Emily Sachar | Hara Schwartz & Christopher Buck The Thompson Family Foundation Lucy Rockefeller Waletzky, MD | Sedgwick Ward Helen & Peter Warwick | Kelly Williams & Andrew Forsyth Susan Winokur & Paul Leach
STAFF
$6.37 MILLION RAISED
Sean E. Sawyer, Ph.D. Washburn & Susan Oberwager President ssawyer@olana.org Mark Prezorski Senior Vice President & Landscape Curator mprezorski@olana.org
THE OLANA PARTNERSHIP PO BOX 199 | HUDSON, NEW YORK 12534 - 0199 The Olana Partnership operates Olana State Historic Site in a cooperative agreement with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
OLANA.ORG 518-828-1872 Cover: Peter Aaron/OTTO PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER