Susquehanna Art Museum

The project involves the renovation of the first three floors of an historic nine-story building into a regional art museum that displays traveling exhibits, local artists, and special installations.  The first two floors contain the public galleries while the third floor houses offices and classrooms.

From the public “picture plane” formed by the heavily glazed exterior wall, the design layers inward creating areas of deep and shallow space.  Sculptural walls that house core functions create contrasting convex and concave forms with the existing spiral staircase. Large “shallow space” planes protect art from direct sunlight while defining the major galleries.  Sliding panels move through the spatial layers, allowing complex subdivisions of the galleries and creating dynamic connections within the museum.

A double height gallery and a grand stair allow planes and volumes to overlap vertically.  The ceiling tracks, curved walls, and sliding and stationary planes make up the lines, surfaces, and volumes of this occupiable painting.