Steven Holl Architects Bellevue Art Museum

Photo: Lara Swimmer

The Bellevue Art Museum, already called "The Art Barn" because of its barn-red stain, is a bold statement in the midst of sterile towers, downtown shopping and traffic. In good weather the cafe, that seats fifty, open onto Bellevue Way and the pedestrian walk that links the transit center and The Bon Marche in Bellevue Square.

Photo: Lara Swimmer

The aim of the design for the new Bellevue Art Museum was to "provide opportunities for active participation in museum life by individuals and groups representing the entire community." Ambitious programs focused on education and outreach, include studio classes for adults and children, an artist-inresidency connected to the Explore Gallery, The Pacific Northwest Arts Fair, workshops, demonstrations, screenings, performances, and readings. The museum's motto, "See, Explore, Make Art," led Holl to the design concept of "tripleness". A non-dialectic openness of experience, thought and contact give character to space on three levels, in three galleries, each with its own personality and unique quality, with three different light conditions and three circulation options.

Sketch courtesy Steven Holl Architects

Holl always carries a 5-by-7-inch notebook; he paints every day starting in the morning when his mind is uncluttered and continues in the office, on airplanes, and in hotel rooms. Sometimes he paints building spaces, other times abstractions. While Holl painted, his assistants poured rubber cement in latex gloves. Then they cut off three fingers, chopped off tips and played with the shapes. They made a series of small, often bizarre models with stumpy digits. Eventually, the fingers molded into what became Holl's ultimate concept: "tripleness".

Sketch courtesy Steven Holl

Visitors will walk through three narrow, curving galleries that stretch across the rooftop like fingers. There will also be three tiers, three distinct uses (to create, explore and learn about art), and three types of natural light. The building is clad in three basic elements: red-stained concrete, hand-sanded aluminum panels and the glass of its huge windows and skylights.

Model photo courtesy Steven Holl Architects

The east and west elevations add a vertical character to the three-story horizontal building. On the top level, where terraces will accommodate outdoor classes as well as exhibition and events on summer evenings, the open attitude of tripleness is realized in a semi-permanent exhibition program for each of the terraces; one, called the Hubbell Terrace, will project images from space, another terrace is a shallow pool, another has a lighting system that changes with the presence of visitors.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The top Gallery under construction The spirit of openness is further expressed in the three main lofts which are each slightly warped and gripped by the end wall structures. The galleries define sequences of movement as well as the main public spaces. The three distinct lighting conditions of the three gallery lofts are analogous to three different concepts of time. Linear Ongoing Time is expressed in the evenness of the light in the north loft. Cyclic Time has its parallel in the arc of south light gallery. Its plan geometry corresponds roughly to the arc of the sun at 48 north latitude. Fragmented or Gnostic Time is reflected in the east-west skylights of the studios lofts.

Photo: Lara Swimmer

Stairways leading from the Forum to the galleries Flanking the main entry between an outdoor cafe and museum shop is the Forum, and Lobby space, an oval two-story atrium space, which can be used for numerous events such as opening receptions and special dinner events. A large window looks out on Bellevue Way. From this grand space, a stepped ramp up to the galleries pauses in a landing which double functions as a stage.

Photo: Lara Swimmer

The Explore Gallery space Ascending to the next level one arrives at the Explore Gallery, a double-height skylit space with an adjacent artist-in-residence studio. Passing by the overlook to the Forum, the stepped ramp leads to the top level at the main loft galleries.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The "Court of Light" under construction A "floating" stairway winds upward through the center of the structure arriving at the third floor outdoor courtyard, the "Court of Light", an elliptically shaped outdoor terrace where visitors can track the movement of the sun at the winter solstice. Holl calls the top floor the "fifth facade". The Museum, which opened in December 2000, has already received the regional AIA Honor Award. Client: Bellevue Art Museum Architect: Steven Holl Architects, New York, NY Project Architects : Tim Bade and Martin Cox Associate Architect: Sclater Partners Architects, Seattle, WA Contractor: Sellen Construction Company, Seattle, WA Program: Galleries, classrooms, cafe, and a 90-seat auditorium. Total floor area: 36,000 square feet Steven Holl Architects arcspace features