Telluride Arts has announced the three finalist firms that will compete for the adaptive reuse and transformation of the historic Telluride Transfer Warehouse in the arts district of Telluride, Colorado. Selected from an initial list of 30 firms from across the country, Gluckman-Tang, LTL and NADAAA were chosen as finalists based on “their sensitivity to the Telluride Arts and Telluride Historic Landmark Districts, their experience with historic restoration, and their previous design experience with public spaces for the arts.”
The three firms will now develop conceptual designs for the building, with the vision of “[creating] an architectural and cultural landmark in the heart of Telluride that provides contemporary, public art space that deepens and expands the cultural life of Telluride.”
Located on within the larger Telluride Master Plan, the project site is located on a lot adjacent to a new school, underground parking and affordable housing units. A National Historic Landmark-listed building, the 6,000-square-foot sandstone Warehouse operated from 1906 until its roof and second story collapsed in 1979. Since then, the building has lied largely vacant.
The project will transform this fertile framework into a new arts center organized into four main zones: “The Great Hall,” “The Stables,” “The Loft” and “The Cellar.” Within these areas, programmatic spaces will include a “Kunsthalle” for exhibitions, a digital screening room, flexible gallery and event spaces, a museum-style bar/cafe, offices and a variety of support spaces. The destroyed second floor will be a particularly important element of the design that organizers refer to as “a blank canvas that provides an exciting design challenge within the historic shell."
“Rare is the opportunity to both preserve an important historic landmark and create something wholly unprecedented," commented Katie Faulkner and Nader Tehrani, NADAAA. "The Transfer Warehouse stands as a monument to Telluride's history of perseverance. The fundamental challenge of the project will be to maintain the power of the ruin while sponsoring vision and opportunity through architectural speculation for the Arts District.”
The three firms have each been awarded $10,000 to develop their conceptual designs. Proposals will be presented to the public in late May, after which a final selection will be made.
Learn more about the project and the history of the site, here.
News via Telluride Arts. H/T Architect’s Newspaper.
