Steven Holl Architects . + dezeen
Steven Holl Architects has been commissioned to design a new Visual Arts Building at Franklin & Marshall College.
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The campus’ remarkable surrounding trees provided a central idea for the composition of the building, which Steven Holl calls a “pavilion on the park.” Raised kite-like into the trees, the building’s light profile is a concave response to the large diameters of the campus’ trees—many over one-hundred years old and the oldest things on this great historic campus. A prominent feature of the design is a glass-enclosed forum in the center of the ground floor that will allow pedestrians on the campus side of the building to see through to the green landscape of Buchanan Park. The new building will form part of a new Visual Arts Quad with a storm water reflecting pool at the south end of the campus marking a new college entry centered around the arts.
In its preliminary configuration, the new four-level building will feature a variety of studios distributed around a central common area on the second floor, along with a specially prepared area for large-scale stone and metal sculpting on the ground floor. Also included will be film labs and a cinema-screening auditorium and lecture hall to support programs in film, photography, and visual studies, areas of study of growing interest.
Classroom space and office/studio spaces for faculty and advanced students will occupy the third floor and overlook both the studios below and the park. The building will exemplify advanced sustainable practices with geothermal heating and cooling integrated with radiant floors. At roughly 35,000 square feet, the new visual arts building will be almost double the size of the existing Herman Arts Building, which will be removed to make way for the new structure.
