CHRIS FORD OFFICE

PVAC: Palos Verdes Art Center

Palos Verdes CA

August 2000

If we believe context is the ground upon which change is measured, then this proposal for the Palos Verdes Art Center looks to respond to contexts which include the built environment as well as the more ephemeral cultural, intellectual, and sociological contexts.

 

In this post-Bilbao era, new art facilities are jockeying for a level of importance that either exceeds its collections or its statement of purpose.  Two prevailing strategies are to produce a building as an artwork itself, or a building as benign entity that stands as backdrop for the art housed within.  The PVAC facility is not so much a place where art is shown, but rather, it acts as a hub where a regional art culture is established and nurtured.  This proposal realizes that as a community facility, ultimately the art and the programs within must be showcased.  This proposal looks to fulfill the needs of site, program, and client with a solution that transcends the sum of these respective parts.

 

The proposed PVAC facility is composed of three primary masses.  First, an introspective copper-clad volume houses the public exhibition spaces.  Second, an extrospective glass and aluminum paneled volume houses the administrative offices, studios and classrooms.  The third piece, a freestanding conical room used for special sculpture exhibitions, can only be entered via a bridge from the third floor galleries.

Multiple terraces and balconies have been designed to provide access to the pleasant Southern California climate.  Hardscape edges have been softened with vegetation to provide gathering places for both small and large groups.  A water feature at the base of the sculpture gallery provides both a physical and psychological cooling effect.

 

The studio component of this design maximizes outward views and exposure to natural light while simultaneously reducing heat gain.  Also, the large percentage of glazing allows for the local non-PVAC affiliated population to better observe those activities that occur within.  A network of horizontal shading devices helps to block deeply penetrating light and the use of low-E insulated glazing also reduces heat gain.  Finally, automated windows are used to create a convective airflow through the spaces whenever the favorable southern California climate allows.