Pomona College Studio Art Hall in Claremont, California by wHY

Article source: wHY

The Pomona College Studio Art Hall is a 35,000 square-foot, two-story, interdisciplinary arts center at the heart of the Claremont, Calif., campus, designed to create a physical environment where an appreciation for the creative art process can be nurtured and explored.

Image Courtesy © wHY

• Architects: wHY
• Project: Pomona College Studio Art Hall
• Location: Claremont, California, U.S.A.
• Architect Team: wHY, Kulapat Yantrasast

Image Courtesy © wHY

Claremont, CA – This September, Pomona College will open anew Studio Art Hall for the 2014-15 academic year. Designed by wHY, the interdisciplinary firm of award-winning architect Kulapat Yantrasast, the open and porous nature of the building exposes different disciplines during the art-making process, creating a cool, transparent and collaborative atmosphere to explore new ideas, materials and artistic production.

Image Courtesy © wHY

Based on a village model, the new home of the Pomona College Art Department maximizes the intersection between students, faculty and staff as they move through the studios and public areas. The seeds for new ways of thinking are planted through the serendipitous encounter, the unplanned studio visit and the informal visibility of the workspaces and studios.

wHY’s use of glass provides students with insights into the creative processes of their peers and faculty members in multiple disciplines. The non-hierarchical gathering of mediums fuels an openness and unrestricted approach to art. In a nod to its inspiring placement on campus and within Southern California, floor-to-ceiling windows in many studios frame theexpansive San Gabriel Mountains, rolling native landscape and an historic oak grove. The arching steel and wood roof echoes the rise and fall of the nearby mountain range and draws parallels to the historic bow-string trussed warehouses, that are home to Los Angeles’ thriving art scene.

Image Courtesy © wHY

“Cross-pollination of ideas cannot occur in walled-off art studios,” Kulapat said. “The Studio Art Hall’s concept and design reflects Pomona College’s ethos of nurturing innovation and culturally-minded graduates who either stay in the arts or venture into science, humanities or business. This building really could not exist anywhere else.”

Built to the LEED Gold standards of the U.S. Green Building Council, the $29 million Studio Art Hall forges new connections to disciplines beyond the arts. The building’s semi-public ‘Grey Spaces’ encourage an informal exchange of ideas. Major program elements are arranged around a central courtyard that accentuates a prominent north-south path through campus. Studios not only provide views to the surrounding landscape, but also have the capacity to expand the working environment into the natural elements and pedestrian spaces.

Image Courtesy © wHY

A formal dedication ceremony will be held on Saturday, Oct. 11. Among the art performed and displayed will be Michael Parker’s mirrored Steam Egg and furniture created by Pomona College students.Among those attending the ceremony will be architect Kulapat Yantrasast; Pomona College President David W. Oxtoby; and Mark Allen, Chair of the Art Department and founder of the Machine Project in Los Angeles; among other college dignitaries.

Image Courtesy © wHY

About Pomona College

Founded in 1887, Pomona College is the founding member of the prestigious Claremont Colleges and one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. The College is most widely known for its high-quality academics, opportunities for hands-on student research, strong mentoring provided by exceptional faculty and its policy of meeting the full financial aid need of every accepted student with no loan financial aid packages.

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The Pomona College Art Department has a long and celebrated history. A short selection of Pomona’s celebrated arts legacy includes: landscape artist Milford Zornes ’34; light and space artist Helen Pashgian ’56; light and space artist James Turrell ’65, who just received the U.S. Medal of Arts; photographer and filmmaker Judy Fiskin’68; sculptor Chris Burden ’69; sculptor Peter Shelton ’73; photographer and montage artists Stephen Marc (Smith) ’76; video artist Denise Marika ’77; public works artist Michael Parker ’00; and visual artists Kim Ye ’07. The role of the Pomona College Art Department and the Pomona College Museum of Art were a celebrated part of California’s Getty-coordinated exhibitions Pacific Standard Time.

Image Courtesy © wHY

About Kulapat Yantrasast and wHY

Thailand-born architect and founder of wHY, Kulapat Yantrasast, was the first architect to receive the Silpathorn Award for Design from Thailand’s Ministry of Culture.Regarded as a new generation architect, Kulapat’s interdisciplinary approach to architecture and design is largely shaped and inspired by his passion for food and society, viewing each project as a mix of ingredients that yields its own unique recipe.His work provides a purity of structure and clarity of thought with an openness and flexibility for a dynamic environment.wHY’s recent and current cultural and institutional building and exhibition design commissions including Harvard Art Museums (2014); Kordansky Gallery (2014); Clark Art Institution (2014); Birmingham Museum of Art Expansion Plan (2015); The Speed Museum of Art (2016); Marciano Art Museum and Foundation (2016); and Worcester Art Museum (2017). wHY is also responsible for the master plan and re-design of Chicago’s historic Jackson Park in collaboration with the Japanese multimedia artist Yoko Ono (2018), as well as several private residences.

Image Courtesy © wHY

Image Courtesy © wHY

Tags: California, Claremont, U.S.A.

Categories: Art Center, College

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