Bozeman Arts Center & Park

The block bounded by Mendenhall, Tracy, Black, and Lamme is situated on the edge of Downtown, Bozeman. It’s north side greets the North Bozeman residential community, while the south side faces the back side of the Bozeman Downtown District. The entirety of this site was chosen to design an art center, reserving each edge of the block for art to be experienced. By occupying the whole block, residents of Bozeman are allowed to gather, walk across, or rest relatively close to the making of art, without actually making the choice to enter the building.

SITE PLAN ] [ BOZEMAN montana

[located on Mendenhall, Black, Tracy, and Lamme]

BOZEMAN COMMUNITY ART CENTER and PARK

] CONTEXT [

exterior perspective

] [ WEST ENTRY

551 STUDIO NARRATIVE

][ invitation to observe, participate, and create

a place where unexpected glimpses become the invitation to create

] Critical Stance [

The goal of the Bozeman Art Center and Park is to provide the residents of Bozeman with a place to observe and participate in arts and crafts directly and indirectly. The site becomes a major contributor to this position, allowing people to cut across, rest, and enjoy leisure activities around the building, without ever intending to interact with the interior. Proposing an art center with a separate program such as a park/path will lend itself to more than artists and residents seeking to learn a craft. Areas of leisure activities, cafe, and an exterior columnade that provides shelter for public transportation create a dynamic atmosphere that artists and residents can mutually feed off. Integrating the community as a whole into the program of the site will provoke moments of interest in various types of arts and crafts.

] Moments [

[A small child with his mother and father listens intently as they walk closer to the opening to the courtyard. The child peers in catching a glimpse of a live ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ performance. The child becomes immediately interested in the act of performing and begs his parents to sign him up for clases.] [ A grandmother waits for her granddaughter who is taking a water-coloring class in one of the art studios within the center. She decides to take shelter from the hot summer sun in the courtyard, below one of the overhangs. She rests on one of the many stone benches that wrap the courtyard. As she waits, she notices a tall narrow aperature in an oddly placed ‘box’ overlapping into the courtyard. Now interested, she stands and walks toward the reveal, listening. She hears the deep rich sound first, then catching a sliver of a young man playing a piano concerto by Saint-Saens. It reminds her of an earlier day, when she used to play quite frequently. After she had children, she no longer had time to persue her interest in classical piano. This incident reminds her how passionate she was about music. Now, having more time to spend to herself, she decides to enter the Art Center and inquire about any available piano lessons being given.] [ A college student taking business classes at MSU is returning from class on his bicycle. Being a college student, he is in a hurry to return home and make dinner. He is determined to find the shortest path, impatiently swirving into and out of alleys. He reaches the corner of the Art Center realizing that two paths for vectors on either side of the building, creating a quicker path to his apartment on the north side. As he slips through the open corridor between building and park, he notices a small window placed below eyelevel. He ducks low, still riding his bike only to discover a series of workshops contained by the stone wall. He is almost instantaneously reminded of his childhood dream of building furniture, but has never had the opportunity in business school.]

circulation

][

ROOF PATH/PARK

These scenarios are sometimes the most influential to change in one’s life. Having experienced both the forced art class [where parents require their children to sign up for classes] and also the self discoverd art or skill that provokes immediate interest, art needs to present itself in a multiplicity of experiences. In this critical stance, the unsuspected person who discovers these ‘glimpses’ obtains a fruitful experience that they can call their own.

roof plan ] [

The form of the building itself came through acknowledging both the residential North side of Bozeman as well as the commercial characteristics of downtown.

Walking from either direction offers a completely different experience. It is as if the ground plane has been peeled back on the south side of the site in order to tuck the appropriate public programs in, where as the north side has become the ‘backyard’ to the art center, lending itself to the residential community that it faces. it becomes much more about the landscape as well as exterior activities, where as the south side acts as an invitation to the act of making and observing art.

The building then becomes a series of walls that have risen from the site. The walls become more pentrable towards the south side, where glazing is the primary threshold. On the north, east, and west sides, the heaviness of the earth is revealed in perceivably thick thresholds, where openings become the only way to discover the mass of the walls. It is not too dissimilar to the way the residential community places itself within the blocks to the north. They set up a deep threshold that streches from the edge of the street, across the sidewalk, and up to the front porch of the common house. The design of the art center was careful not to intefere with the privacy of the residential neighborhood, and in this way only truly opens itself up in one direction.

`1/40”= 1’

01 LOBBY 02 RECEPTION 03 CAFE 04 KITCHEN 05 PRACTICE/WRITING ROOM 06 THEATER 07 BACKSTAGE 08 GALLERY 09 LIBRARY 10 LECTURE/CONFERENCE 11 MECHANICAL 12 RESTROOMS 13 WOOD SHOP 14 METAL SHOP 15 CERAMICS SHOP 16 STORAGE 17 RECITAL HALL 18 COURTYARD 19 PUBLIC TRANSIT STOP 20 PARK 21 PARKING/DELIVERY 22 flex STUDIO SPACE 23 ADMINISTRATIVE 24 FILM/DARK ROOM

21

24

22 20

15 22

16 14

23 11 13

structure

][

ONE-WAY CONCRETE JOIST

structure

][

REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMNS CONCRETE BLOCK BEARING WALL

light

][

DOUBLE GLAZING SYSTEM

07 12

11

06

10 08 09 22

mechanical

][

SUPPLY/RETURN AIR SYSTEM

emergency

][

EGRESS/ENTRANCE

22

A

22 18

04

22

05

03

01

19

17

02

C

B

ground plan ] [

1”=16’

public

][

PARK/PERFORMANCE

studio and systems ][ 001 01 SKY LIGHT/NATURAL VENTILATION 02 GREEN ROOF 03 OCCUPIABLE ROOF 04 SUN-SHADING SYSTEM 05 CUSHION DANCE FLOOR 06 ONE-WAY CONCRETE JOIST 07 VENTILATION 08 STONE TILE 09 STEEL ANGLE 10 PERFORATED CORTEN 11 (4”) PLATE STEEL COLUMN 12 ALUMINUM MULLION SYSTEM 13 WOOD DROP-CEILING

1

2

3 6 9 10 4 7

13

5

interior perspective

12

] [ SOUTH WING STUDIO SPACE

11 8 section

] [ STUDIO BAY/ ROOF

01 aluminum mullion system 02 double panel, insulated glazing system 03 operable sun-screening device 04 insulation core

01 REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMN 02 (3”) STEEL ‘C’ CHANNEL 03 TERRAZZO TILED FLOOR 04 CONCRETE/TERRAZZO BENCH interior perspetive

environmental systems

section (A) ] [

] [ SUN-SHADING LOUVERS // INSULATION

1/16” = 1’

structural/aesthetic

] [ COLUMN AND BENCH

] [ PRACTICE/WRITING ROOM

courtyard ][ 002

3

COURTYARD WALL SECTION(1) The courtyard wall creates a thin boundary between the interior lobby, gallery, and studio spaces to the exterior of Bozeman. It offers various opportunities to catch glimpses of the act of crafting and creating. The floor of the interior courtyard provides different vantage points into the courtyard as well as the lobby/gallery spaces. It is sheltered by a 16’ overhang walkway which also reduces direct sun. The wall also acts as an internal venting system allowying for natural ventilation by operable windows at varying heights. The roof surrounding the courtyard acts as a path for Bozeman residents to trek arcross to and from destinations.

2 4 1 5 6 8

7

exterior perspective

] [ COURTYARD/THEATER ENTRANCE

9

10

11 1 4” rigid insulation with metal mesh soffit 2 granite stone cladding 3 limestone roof tiles 4 insulation panel 5 one-way concrete joist roof structure 6 operable window system for N.V. 7 corten raised walkway || light steel structure 8 drop acoustic ceiling panels 9 custom double 4” plate steel column 10 drainage system 11 grade-beam foundation NOTE: water membranes are placed on exterior of structure and water vapor membranes are placed interior to insulation

exterior perspective

section (B) ] [

1/16” = 1’

] [ COURTYARD (looking south-west)

theatre ][ 003

THEATER WALL SECTION(2)

The theater wall creates a strong/thick boundary between exterior and interior. External observers realize the thickness of the material, peeling away as they approach the core. Voids provide realization of this thickness. Long slender cut stone gives the building a sense of foundation, rising up to meet the downtown area. The thickness also serves as an insulative shell for the builidng from the North while also creating a strong acoustical boundary from interior to exterior.

interior perspetive

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

] [ THEATER STAGE

green roof system ‘in wall’ drainage system behind insulation box truss structure over theater window for natural lighting in theater granite stone cladding system acoustic baffles with sound dampening core wood flooring ‘in floor’ heating system drainage system

interior perspective

section (C) ] [

1/16” = 1’

] [ LOBBY SPACE

theatre ][ 003

THEATER WALL SECTION(2)

The theater wall creates a strong/thick boundary between exterior and interior. External observers realize the thickness of the material, peeling away as they approach the core. Voids provide realization of this thickness. Long slender cut stone gives the building a sense of foundation, rising up to meet the downtown area. The thickness also serves as an insulative shell for the builidng from the North while also creating a strong acoustical boundary from interior to exterior.

interior perspetive

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

] [ THEATER STAGE

green roof system ‘in wall’ drainage system behind insulation box truss structure over theater window for natural lighting in theater granite stone cladding system acoustic baffles with sound dampening core wood flooring ‘in floor’ heating system drainage system

interior perspective

section (C) ] [

1/16” = 1’

] [ LOBBY SPACE

exterior perspective

] [ ROOF TOP

exterior perspective

] [ EAST ENTRY