SHoP Architects have unveiled plans to expand SITE Santa Fe, a contemporary arts venue in the city of Santa Fe. With a mission to serve as a "dynamic cultural hub" within the heart of Santa Fe Railyard (one of America's six Great Public Spaces according to the American Planning Association), the new design "draws inspiration from traditional Navajo patternmaking" and will be anchored in the "distinctive material qualities" of its historic site.
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to work with SITE Santa Fe to help transform its current home,” SHoP principal Christopher Sharples said. “Our design is based around the idea that art doesn’t have to be experienced in isolation. The galleries will become unique and intimate places to interact with art, even as the building itself opens up to the neighboring park, the life of the Railyard district, and gives SITE a greater presence in the landscape of the city as a whole.”
The updated building will be comprised of an expanded SITElab Exhibition gallery, a 3000 square-foot "flexible" event hall, an Education Lab, classroom, and new outdoor gathering spaces, such as a Entrance Sculpture Court and Sky Mezzanine.
It will break ground at 1606 Paseo de Peralta in August 2016; completion is slated summer 2017.
