Working with the natural topography, buildings, and heritage of the prestigious university, a series of key moments transform the Nasher Art Gallery into a centrepiece for the Campus Arts District.
Composing
Continuity
The newly made plaza is in a direct relationship with the existing Rubenstein arts plaza, now a duologue of spaces that can be used throughout the whole day. Away from a previously car-dominated drop-off slope, the intervention creates a pedestrian friendly, soft and celebrated arrival into the museum that works with the topography to encourage the museum to flow outside of the transparent walls.
Blurring the lines between interior and exterior, the Nasher’s interior atrium paving now extends beyond the walls of the museum.
The design includes two core values – inviting the campus into the space and extending the museum out into the landscape.
The removal of the previously a dense, overgrown understory of invasive plants revealed the original character of the woodland’s towering pines, providing the ideal setting for an undulating sculpture valley to extend within the landscape.
A monolithic forty-five feet long sculptural bench, made from museum quality stone further exentuates the relationship between the placza and the museum and offers an inviting opportunity for interaction.
Bluestone paving, famously used throughout the campus in an Ashler pattern, has been re-invented to compliment the modern, clean lines of the Nasher Museum.
Creating a canvas for a variety of both formal and informal events and performances.
Bridging the gap between the static museum and dynamic campus life, the plaza is a place for Duke University students to express themselves. Flush power outlets are provided throughout to provide electricity for complex AV systems, encouraging the museum itself to become an artwork; the velvet lawn is resilient to high foot traffic, with an the integrated drainage system of the plaza allows for events to be enjoyed throughout the seasons
The Great Lawn, stretched between the Nasher Museum and Campus Drive, is a blank canvas to be decorated by the highly anticipated Duke sculpture collection. ‘Vessel’ by Radcliffe Bailey, was strategically positioned by the design team as the first sculpture in a sequence from the loaned ‘Corridor Pin, Blue’ by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
Client
Duke University
Consultants
McAdams Company, LHC Structural Engineers PC, Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company LLC (Soils and Irrigation), Newcomb & Boyd, LLP (MEP engineering & lighting)
Imagery
©West 8, © Copyright Sterling E. Stevens
