Page Bond Gallery - Merit Award Winner

AIA Richmond Chapter 2008 Design Awards

 
Title: Page Bond Gallery
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Building Type:  Commercial (Art Gallery)
Architect: 3North Architects; Richmond, Va.
Owner:  Midnight Dog, LLC; Richmond, Va.
Completed: 2006
Square Footage:  3600 sf
Project Cost: $170,000
 

Project Narrative:

Creation of a contemporary gallery space to accommodate both large and intimate works, suitable for flat work as well as sculpture. Additional requirements included a loading door, an office, shipping and receiving space, art storage space, a library, flat file storage for prints and works on paper, and a caterer’s prep area.

The project entailed the renovation of an historic Pepsi-Cola truck garage in an urban block of historic industrial buildings, many of which have also been renovated for commercial and retail use in recent years. The front façade of the narrow, party-wall, brick building is an operating garage door. The interior, 3600 sf space measures 30’ x 120’ x 15’ high, and features five skylights.

The owner’s bid for an historic tax credit qualification assumed minimal intervention into the building’s fabric and structure, and retention of an operating garage door to signify the original, historic function. The design solution consisted of renovation of the large space to create an expansive gallery space; within this larger space, two smaller rooms “float” to provide office and storage/print areas, and act as space dividers, creating an intimate gallery space adjacent to the main gallery space. Materials are appropriately industrial and raw; poured-in-place aggregate concrete walls were kept low to maintain view across the spatial expanse. Details include raw steel-framed sliding doors, crafted by a local artist, translucent polycarbonate lights, and fiber-reinforced concrete floor slab. The glazed entry storefront was recessed to retain standard metal roll-up garage door. Perforations, specified in an “artful” square pattern, allow view to within when door is closed.

Jury Comments:

“This is a handsome project. The contrast between the lightness of the white truss grid and the solidity of the gray concrete mass is powerful, they have taken a very commonplace building – one that is present in our context everywhere – and made something special of it. This is a great example of an excellent design achieved within a limited budget.”