Add To Collection
Add to Collection
Painting Studio & Gallery
Painting Studio & Gallery
Villanova, PA, United States
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
Other Projects by MGA Partners Architects
Painting Studio & Gallery
Villanova, PA, United States
YEAR
2009
A former electrical substation building, constructed in the early 1900’s for the Philadelphia and Western Railroad, was used by the Owner’s father in the 1950’s as a sculpture studio. Long abandoned, the Owner discovered an extensive collection of plaster casts and molds from his father’s work that remained in the building. This discovery inspired the Owner to renovate the building as a studio/gallery for his wife, a modern painter, and as a permanent home for his father’s work. The Studio renovation posed two challenges: to facilitate through spatial design a fluid dynamic between the painting studio, a rotating gallery for modern art and a permanent collection of traditional sculptures, and to preserve the industrial character of the great machine hall and its equipment chambers below. The design inserts a new loft structure into the expansive two-story volume, creating a semi-private painting studio above a public gallery below. The loft, made from steel and reclaimed wood, recalls the industrial heritage of the building and adds warmth to the space. Gallery lighting throughout brightens the formerly dark spaces and provides fixtures that can be changed, dimmed and separately controlled for the specific needs of each exhibit. A second gallery for the Owner’s permanent sculpture collection is housed in the basement. Existing concrete walls are reconfigured to transform the space from a series of isolated rooms into an open gallery. Rough concrete walls and alcoves lined with new millwork panels form crypt-like displays for the smooth plaster and bronze sculptures. Remnants of the building’s history including exposed conduits, ceramic conductor heads and steel hangers are left in place and add to the industrial character of the space. Restoration of the neglected building is visible on both the exterior and interior. Exterior work includes restoration of the brick facades and original wood windows, and a new insulated membrane roof. Interior work includes restoration of the buff and glazed brick walls, concrete floors, and rusting steel structure. In the Basement, the concrete foundation walls are cleaned and a new under slab drainage system is added to solve water problems that had persisted throughout the building’s life. Sustainable initiatives designed into the project include use of reclaimed wood flooring and stair treads, radiant heated floors in the basement and loft, geothermal wells that provide both heating and cooling in the main gallery, and a white membrane roof to reflect the summer heat.
Product Spec Sheet
Were your products used?
Join as a manufacturer to add your products.