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 steadiness between the pure atmosphere and inventive expression.
Initially conceived as a non-public 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 dwell on as a pure historical past and artwork museum. As we speak, it’s generally known 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 at present. Completion of an growth plan dubbed The New Bruce is sort of carried out. The hassle will double the scale of the museum by increasing its present 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 dimension and rises three tales. The addition doesn’t press up in opposition to the prevailing construction; as a substitute, it stands aside from the prevailing pale, gabled quantity perched atop a stone base and reads as a separate quantity. A courtyard area realized between the 2 constructions bodily unites the 2 disparate designs. This interstitial panorama additionally serves as an extension of the encircling 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 in addition posed challenges: The positioning drops about 50 toes in elevation, and it was necessary to protect the prevailing timber and rocks.
“From defending the panorama to negotiating the steep hill each in design and thru development—the positioning was a difficult one to work on, however concurrently the identical issues that may make the result so wealthy,” Javier Marcano, venture architect with Eskew + Dumez + Ripple, advised AN. “Actually a complete better than the sum of its half, The Bruce’s distinctive expertise is realized largely from the dialogue between structure, panorama, geology and topography.”
A sequence of facade research reveal the assorted factors of inspiration the design crew 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 essential sources of inspiration: pure stone quarries and vernacular lace partitions, which the natives and indigenous folks 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 response to 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 dimension was chosen for the putting results of sunshine and shadow which can be created when they’re illuminated by daylight. (It was additionally ideally suited 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 stage’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 in addition 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.
