Top: Night
view
Bottom Left: Exhibition overview
Bottom Right: Gallery, "Visions and Design"
"When
thinking of the design for the opening exhibition, 'The Art of Bloomsbury,'
I could not imagine asking anyone other than Levin to undertake the
project. Her design provided the perfect setting for the works displayed,
and the overwhelmingly positive visitor response attests to its great
success. It is one of the most exquisite exhibition spaces I know."
Edward J. Nygren, Former Director of Art Collections, The Huntington
Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens |
 |
The
MaryLou and George Boone Gallery
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens
Completion March 2000
San Marino, California
7,100 square feet
The firm programmed and designed a restoration of the building exterior
and adaptive re-use of the interior as a changing exhibition gallery
for the art and library divisions. The MaryLou and George Boone Gallery
includes 4,100 square feet of exhibition space, a satellite museum
store, preparators' area, exhibit staging and support facilities.
The architectural design of the gallery is a composition of details
which refer to classical design, but are interpreted and executed
in modern form. The entry lobby is both, literally and metaphorically,
transitional space between exterior and interior, between classical
and contemporary. The entry double glass doors recall the original
design intent, shown on the original Hunt drawings, while the glass
gallery doors are a re-interpretation. Six new skylights and four
custom-designed cast stone plinth light fixtures flood the lobby with
light, while the plaster walls and ceilings provide color, texture
and a domestic scale.
The project received a preservation award in May of 2000 from the
Los Angeles Conservancy. |
