Project Description
‘UP HERE the North is not a frontier. It is not the romantic North that belonged to former generations. It is connected, pivotal, and conflicted, both rarefied and ubiquitous.” AM Strategic Plan 2014 Under the energetic new leadership of Julie Decker the Anchorage Museum is focused on telling the story of the North from the unique perspective of the people that live, work and play here. Following two major additions by world renowned architects the Museum facilitated a grass roots process led by Alaskan designers that explored how it’s vision should be expressed through a major building expansion. The resulting 30,000 square foot Rasmuson Wing creates world class galleries grounded in the values of the North. In Julie’s own words: “The Anchorage Museum is a museum of place, providing a narrative for the North that includes perspectives of art, design, history, science and culture. The new Rasmuson Wing furthers the Museum’s mission to connect people, expand perspectives, and encourage a global dialogue about the North and its distinct environment. Housing galleries for the Museum’s art collection, the Wing features representations of the North that depict awe-inspiring views and everyday life, pose questions about contemporary issues, and imagine what the future landscape might look like. The architecture of the new wing is grounded in place. Windowed galleries overlook the city’s urban and natural surroundings, connecting Museum content to the environment it references. The facade is clad in zinc and Alaskan Yellow Cedar, echoing both the durability and the weathering that defines Alaska’s built environment, with a contemporary design sensibility. Cedar is known for the sustainable nature of its cultivation and harvesting and performs well in challenging climates. Installed vertically, the Alaskan cedar enhances the building’s overall design while distinguishing itself from both the brick of the 1980s addition, as well as the glass of the front-facing David Chipperfield-designed wing. The interior galleries are designed for both the art and the people. The design allows for the presence of daylight, washing the space with natural light that is ever-changing. In this way the indoor world of art and the real outdoors comment upon each other. Continuous heart pine floors, with a chalk finish and outlines of nails in the recycled wood, offer something more earnest and hardworking than pristine surfaces. The effect suggests the Northern character. Tall ceilings, large expanses of white walls and column-less open space are aspirational, hinting at the vastness of our environment and of the potential of arts of the North to occupy and define it. Museum architecture, when it is successful, quietly influences the way we appreciate and interpret a painting, a sketch or a contemporary installation. It is best when it evokes a quiet presence that allows the works within it to tell their stories. The Rasmuson Wing is a narrative of the North, paying tribute to our place, its materials, landscape, and voices – both past and future.”