‘kimball art center’ by BIG in park city, utah all images courtesy BIG

 

 

 

internationally-recognized architecture practice bjarke ingels group has completed a design proposal of the new kimball art center in park city, utah, USA. drawing from the recent urban development of the city, the context of the site, and the area’s mining heritage, the project seeks to present through proportions and materiality the history of park city.

BIG architects: kimball art centeraerial view

BIG architects: kimball art centerwithin context

 

 

 

situated on the intersection of two high-traffic streets – main street and heber avenue – the new cultural facility is a stacked design that in essence provides two galleries in one structure: the building’s footprint is arranged to meet the city’s grid (parallel to main street) while the top gallery aligns itself with the diagonally-running heber avenue. the resulting form is a building that pivots around to have two orientations. rising over 24 meters – the same height at which the historical landmark ‘coalition building’ stood adjacent to the site – the art center achieves a visually distinct identity at the gateway to the city.

BIG architects: kimball art centerstreet view during winter

 

 

 

built using heavy timber, the construction method and material references the city’s coal mining history: instead of stacking the wood to create a retaining wall as they did within the mines, the residential houses inverted this technique and applied it to the outside of the house as the primary structure. the new kimball art center takes this building method to create a ‘highly-evolved log cabin’. the twisting form carves out the route of the circulation resulting in a continuous spiral staircase that runs embedded into the timber facade.

BIG architects: kimball art centerinterior atrium

BIG architects: kimball art center ground floor lobby

BIG architects: kimball art center main staircase

BIG architects: kimball art center sky gallery

BIG architects: kimball art center office

BIG architects: kimball art center

BIG architects: kimball art center night view

BIG architects: kimball art center

BIG architects: kimball art center

BIG architects: kimball art center

BIG architects: kimball art center (left) existing kimball art center – oriented towards park ave (right) two new galleries

BIG architects: kimball art center (upper left) street gallery – oriented to park city’s street grid and main street (upper right) sky gallery – oriented to heber avenue, the gateway to park city (lower left) unified twist (lower right) program – between the two galleries are administration and restaurant functions; the existing building houses the education program and exhibition support functions

BIG architects: kimball art center underground floor – exhibition, support

BIG architects: kimball art center ground floor – lobby, assembly, education

BIG architects: kimball art center second floor – restaurant

BIG architects: kimball art center third floor – administration

BIG architects: kimball art center fourth floor – exhibition

BIG architects: kimball art center roof terrace

BIG architects: kimball art center model view at night

BIG architects: kimball art center

project info:

 

client: kimball art center size: 2,800 m2

partner in charge: bjarke ingels project leader: leon rost team: terrence chew, suemin jeon, chris falla, andreia teixeira, ho kyung lee collaborators: nexus architects, dunn associates, urn boerum & frank associates, and envision engineering