DARA MADRID DEAN

University of Kentucky Art Museum

Independent Studio_2006 Collaboration with Jenna Wainer

 

The goal of this project was to highlight the Art Museum, which is housed in the Otis A. Singletary Center, as a significant part of the existing building and surrounding campus.  The design integrates a light, frame steel structure that starts as a grid at the museum entry and grows throughout the building, twisting and turning. The intention was to create a structure that would provide plenty of natural, and indirect light sources. The pre-existing layout was also specified as being an issue for the rotation, and experiencing of exhibitions. To address this problem, I designed rotating wall panels that allow for different configurations for exhibition design, and curation. With this flexibility and, as the model shows, a grid that flows into the building pushing through the roof and allowing for the option of a rooftop garden, the space would both highlight art and welcome the students and local townspeople alike.