2008 FAB AWARD – Government/Institutional
Co-Winner

HGA Architects & Engineers

Walker Art Center Administrative Offices

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As with the art of Scherenschnitte—meaning literally “scissor-cutting”—the Walker Art Center offices express a visual energy as if cut and folded from paper. Form and angle, light, reflection and color play off each other in an interior space that reflects the creative energy of art itself. Scherenschnitte becomes the spatial tenet between forms within the space. Windows angled, cut and folded within deep wall recesses—dubbed “Schnitzels” by the design team—project sunlight across straight-edge, gallery-white walls in warm swatches. Every straight line has its angled counterpoint, suggesting a new perspective on the seemingly commonplace.

The offices for 70 staff members fit within the shell of the Walker’s kinetic, metalclad addition along a busy urban street. The office footprint mimics the gallery footprint of the level below, a reminder that the business at hand is the art just below. The offices unfold within two juxtaposed volumes linked by an intriguing schnitzel-shaped sottopassaggio: one-half curatorial and creative personnel, the other administrative. Pocket conference rooms, seating areas, a lunch room, kitchen and other support spaces fit within the angled, recessed spaces of the building’s seemingly thick walls.

The white palette provides a clean, cool backdrop to an interior that is anything but neutral. Sheer curtains in alternating color panels of wines, blues and yellows cover the executive offices’ full-length corridors windows. Built-in bookshelves with recessed backlighting seemingly float above file drawers. White and black furniture contrasts with a red reception sofa popping out of the background. Works by Kelly, Ruscha, LeWitt, and Warhol punctuate the more steadfast of the gallery-like walls.

DESIGN TEAM & SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Dan Avchen, FAIA Principal-in-Charge
John Cook, AIA Project Architect
Eric Amel, Associate AIA Project Designer
Tao Ham, PhD, LC, LEED AP, IESNA Lighting Designer
Kate Zwicky, PE Mechanical Engineer
Ben Gutierrez Electrical Engineer

Walker Art Center Client
Herzog & de Meuron Project Architect
M A Mortenson General Manager/Contractor
Custom Expressions Draperies/Acostic Panels
Howard Roark Associates Vitra Furnishings
O’Keefe Inc. Millwork
Target Commercial Interiors Carpeting
Lighting Affiliates Lighting