Rather than trying to compete with the sublime landscape of Utah, New York City based Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects chose to create a building that framed the views and contained a perspective from which to appreciate the alpine landscape. This design is one of five proposals for the transformation of the Kimball Art Center in Park City.
More on this proposal after the break.
The programs are arranged to give the most outward views of the mountain and sky. The entry, located at Heber and Main Street, is raised above the sidewalk to create a porch. The galleries above, which flank the facade, are cut back to allow natural light into this entry and gathering space. The rooms within which the galleries are located – sky rooms on the second level – are surrounded by sheets of hammered and punctured copper.
The ground floor has studios for both digital and manual production. A large garage door in the lobby controls access to these studios. A cafe, gift shop and restaurant is accessible directly from Main Street and from within the building lobby. The mezzanine has office space, bathrooms and a community gallery.
Along the ground floor facade, hand glazed brick varying between green and copper greets the passersby. The colors were chosen in correlation to the existing tones of Park City. The old walls of the Kimball Art Center will be sandblasted to bring back their original color. New glazing along Heber Street will give the passersby visual access into the studios.
The walls of the sky rooms and main galleries, located on the top level, are covered in a white scrim. Depending on the time of day, light can either be seen through the white scrim, punctuating through the cuts in the copper facade from within the gallery spaces to the street or vice versa. Two moveable copper panels are affixed to the corners of the building. They can be slid out of place to reveal the scrim surface, allowing fresh air and light to enter the space, or closed in severe weather but offer the community a look into the building. Movies can be projected on the surface – “a transmitter of light and shadow”.
See full presentation here.
