olson kundig completes haub family galleries for the tacoma art museum

tom kundig of olson kundig architects has completed the new haub family galleries for the tacoma art museum (TAM) in washington state, USA. the galleries, together with a newly configured entry plaza, mark kundig’s first museum project and expand the institution’s existing structure by 16,000 square feet, doubling available floor space. the design reflects the surrounding environment through the creative use of industrial elements, an earthy palette of materials, and mechanical features that allow the building to respond to its context. simultaneously, the structure is a direct reference to the setting’s industrial environment – a city and region shaped through connection to shipping, logging and railroading.

image © benjamin benschneider

‘architecturally, the challenges became opportunities,’ stated kundig. ‘it was an opportunity to create new venues to view art. the design takes into account tacoma’s diverse and historic neighborhoods. the west doesn’t stop in wyoming. tacoma, the ‘city of destiny,’ was the western terminus of the northern pacific railroad, and played an important part of the larger story of the west.‘

image © benjamin benschneider

the scheme is characterized by a 34-foot-tall entrance canopy that soars over the existing museum and expansion, uniting the site. the roof transforms the outdoor plaza into a welcoming public gathering space and has been constructed using a combination of aluminum grating and stainless steel panels, reused from demolished portions of the existing building. sliding sun screens are made of richlite – a sustainable material made locally in tacoma from recycled paper – organic fiber and phenolic resin. the 16-feet-wide-by-17-feet-tall screens, operated by a hand-wheel, roll like railroad box car doors across the façade and interlace with a set of fixed screens.

image © benjamin benschneider

the overall scheme includes 7,000 square feet of new gallery space dedicated to the haub family collection, 3,500 square feet of new back-of-house service and mechanical space, and 3,000 square feet of interior renovations in the existing facility for lobby, bookstore, café and restrooms. from an environmental perspective, sustainable features include reduced water usage with adaptive landscape vegetation and low flow water fixtures, high efficiency mechanical and LED lighting systems, and the incorporation of reclaimed materials from the existing site.

image © benjamin benschneider

image © benjamin benschneider

image © kevin scott

image © kyle johnson