Inside look at Taubman Museum

The soaring peaks, rounded walls, and incredible overhangs that fascinate us from the outside, only grow on the inside of the new Taubman Art Museum.

Inside you get an entirely different take on the glass peak in the atrium, the grand staircase that will soon have glass treads, and the temporary and contemporary art galleries with their expansive walls.

Nothing in the museum seems square. Almost every wall or ceiling is curved or angled. Walking through the space, you get a real feel of movement. There’s always something new and interesting for your eye to focus on.

Our tour included the first floor with the atrium, auditorium, children’s gallery, and kitchen. Work inside here is 85% done. That means there are still a lot of finishing details like building the Hokie Stone Wall in the Atrium or putting down the travertine marble floor. The tiles are coming from Turkey and are on a boat right now.

Up on the second floor, more work needs to be done from the floors to the walls, but you can get a real sense of how the space is configured. This is where most of the art will be displayed between the temporary galleries, the contemporary art gallery, and four other permanent galleries.

The third floor is mainly office space. One of the most interesting rooms on this floor is the board room which as a terrace that overlooks the valley toward the Roanoke Civic Center. This space will be rented out to different groups.

No doubt it will be in high demand. As this museum comes together, it promises to be like no other in the area if not the nation, and it’s right here in downtown Roanoke.