Architect: Eskew + Dumez + Ripple
Location: Greenwich, Connecticut
Completion Date: Spring 2023
On the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, science and artwork intertwine in additional methods than one. New Orleans–primarily based agency Eskew + Dumez + Ripple has designed a brand new wing for the museum confronted with precast concrete panels and glass. The addition’s stonework references the striated geological bedrock present in native quarries whereas being layered in banded proportions, forming a stability between the pure atmosphere and creative expression.
Initially conceived as a personal residence within the mid-Nineteenth century for lawyer, clergyman and historian Francis Lister Hawks, the unique construction was bought by textile service provider Robert Moffat Bruce who turned the home over to the city of Greenwich so it may stay on as a pure historical past and artwork museum. As we speak, it’s referred to as the Bruce Museum. Subsequent renovations over time and a rising assortment of artwork and objects has made the previous residence into the cultural vacation spot it’s as we speak. Completion of an enlargement plan dubbed The New Bruce is sort of executed. The hassle will double the scale of the museum by increasing its current footprint, and the brand new wing designed by Eskew + Dumez + Ripple lies on the core of this course of.
Expanded storage for assortment objects, versatile exhibition areas, a brand new entrance foyer, and a lecture corridor are all housed throughout the new wing, which is simply over 40,000 sq. toes in measurement and rises three tales. The addition doesn’t press up towards the present construction; as an alternative, it stands aside from the present pale, gabled quantity perched atop a stone base and reads as a separate quantity. A courtyard area realized between the 2 buildings bodily unites the 2 disparate designs. This interstitial panorama additionally serves as an extension of the encompassing park. A brand new sculpture backyard, strolling trails, and different pure enhancements to Bruce Park are different updates deliberate for the campus.
The museum’s bucolic setting guided this newest renovation and likewise posed challenges: The location drops about 50 toes in elevation, and it was essential to protect the present timber and rocks.
“From defending the panorama to negotiating the steep hill each in design and thru building—the positioning was a difficult one to work on, however concurrently the identical issues that may make the end result so wealthy,” Javier Marcano, venture architect with Eskew + Dumez + Ripple, instructed AN. “Actually a complete larger than the sum of its half, The Bruce’s distinctive expertise is realized largely from the dialogue between structure, panorama, geology and topography.”
A collection of facade research reveal the varied factors of inspiration the design staff used when realizing the facade earlier than touchdown on the precast concrete panels. Amongst these have been a glance into lace partitions, as seen within the stone fences constructed by New England farmers, and within the striated patterning of quarries alongside the Connecticut coast.
“The facade pays homage to 2 predominant sources of inspiration: pure stone quarries and vernacular lace partitions, which the natives and indigenous individuals of Connecticut used to delineate property strains,” Marcano added.
Whereas monolithic in look, the spacing and association of the stones throughout the facade introduces a way of openness and, in line with Marcano, “speaks to the stable/void relationships of the venture.” The facade consists of 80-inch modules of precast concrete panels composed of various sized and formed stones. This module measurement was chosen for the placing results of sunshine and shadow which can be created when they’re illuminated by daylight. (It was additionally splendid for ease of transport and set up.) The module is translated in resized iterations throughout the constructing and is used to dimension the curtain-wall glazing, the entry degree’s rainscreen steel panels, and the stair risers.
A video of the design offers a way of the suite of areas deliberate for the brand new and improved Bruce Museum:
Marcano additionally shared that “the optimization of the constructing envelope not solely prioritized efficiency but additionally put magnificence and expertise on the forefront.”
Beforehand, one entered the museum from the north, the place the sloping website was hidden from view. To reimagine the method to the museum, Eskew + Dumez + Ripple labored with panorama architects Reed Hildebrand to find a brand new entry level within the addition which faces the park. The architects labored with a set of consultants and producers and credit score these collaborations with the success of the design.
“Pulling from the insights of a number of disciplines, we have been in a position to ship a novel design, that was constructible, performance-driven and exquisite,” Marcano acknowledged.
