New Art Museum of Western Virginia 90% complete

Work is almost done on the Art Museum of Western Virginia.  Museum leaders tell us the new building is 90% complete.

Installation of the maple floor is nearly complete for the Central Hall and second floor galleries.  Also, workers are installing travertine marble floors for the first floor.  Painters are also coloring the walls throughout the building.

The museum will change its name to the Taubman Museum of Art when it opens in November.

Floor by floor information from Art Museum leaders below:

First Floor
The travertine marble floor for the first floor has arrived from Turkey and been delivered to the site.  Installation of the marble has begun in the new museum’s auditorium and will be followed by installation in the atrium. 

Installation of Hokie Stone continues in the future theater lobby and on the exterior auditorium wall and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks. 

The measure and layout for the underlit glass treads and rail system for the grand staircase has begun.  Templates are being created for each glass tread according to the actual site measurements of the installed steel frame.

Installation is underway for the ceramic tile and countertops in the first floor restrooms and the quarry tile in the catering kitchen.

Framing for the first floor ceilings and drywall installation with framing and drywall covering of bulkheads is nearly complete.  Level 5 wall finish, a high quality and durable wall finish that is applied before primer and paint, is nearly complete.

Second Floor
The maple floors have been laid and installed, are currently being sanded, and will then be sealed.  Raised flooring for the new media gallery will follow with the installation of carpet tiles in the space. 

Installation of drywall for the central hall and most of the 12,000 square feet of gallery space, with the exception of the new media gallery, is complete and smooth finishing has been
applied.  Installation of plywood sheathing for the new media gallery has begun.  Painting has begun in the central hall and the American art galleries.  Painting for each of the gallery spaces should be completed in the coming weeks.

Installation of ceiling mounted uplights for the luminous ceiling is underway in the contemporary art gallery and American art gallery A and will be followed by installation in American art gallery B and the central hall.  The luminous ceiling will extend through the central hall and partially into the contemporary art gallery and American art galleries.  The backlit translucent ceiling panels will provide lighting continuity throughout the interior spaces by using artificial light filtered from above on the second floor.

Third Floor
Framing is complete for the administrative areas.  Completion of the administrative office enclosures will occur in the next month after the glass transoms, which allow natural light to filter into the interior offices from the clerestory windows, are installed. 

Exterior
Installation of the stainless steel roof panels continues for Element 6.  Stainless steel and zinc wall panel installation continues on the north elevation. 

Element 1 houses the atrium and lobby, concourse, museum store, and a portion of the café.  Element 2 houses the first floor auditorium, theater and lobby, equipment platforms, primary mechanical spaces, and the second floor art galleries, including the contemporary gallery.  Element 3 of the building design houses the library, boardroom, boardroom terrace, director’s
office, temporary galleries, Art Venture, and a portion of the café.  Element 4 houses back of house mechanical rooms, housekeeping areas, art storage and the catering kitchen, third floor
reception and administrative offices, and several small galleries, including the prints and photography, regional decorative arts, Leiber handbag collection, and modernism galleries.  Elements 5 and 6 together house the art loading and service docks, new media gallery and American art gallery. 

A half scale model of the new Art Museum building’s roof at the intersection of Elements 3 and 6 is on exhibit in the Art Museum’s current facility as part of the Process and Promise in a New Art Museum exhibition.  The Art Museum galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 1-5 p.m.  Admission is free through June 8.