The Joslyn Memorial Building & Scott Pavilion Renovations

The Joslyn Art Museum welcomes thousands of visitors from around the world on an annual basis to view its collection of more than 12,000 treasures. Guests attend educational and cultural events, relax in the café, and browse the Museum store. To continue engaging its visitors at the highest level, a refresh was needed to enhance and expand community education and outreach programs. This renovation included the administration suite, studios, reference library, the Abbott Lecture Hall, and the Durham Café. The contemporary design updates were carefully inserted within the existing, early-century Art Deco architecture of the Memorial Building. A careful, precise approach was needed due to nuances of the existing building such as load-bearing walls and the self-spanning nature of the floor deck. The new design is intentionally understated and referential towards the existing architecture – highlighting the quality of materials and details already present. It embraces and emphasizes the extravagant existing material palette which includes terrazzo, various natural stones, and Art Deco ornamentation and details. The design team paid careful attention and respect to existing design features while modernizing workspaces, meeting rooms, and educational spaces with ergonomics and low VOC materials. Adjacencies were carefully considered and improved upon, allowing the staff to seamlessly move throughout their workday. Layout within the office space was strategically adjusted, moving offices away from exterior walls and adding sidelight windows, to provide an equitable and cohesive quantity of natural light to all work spaces. The public-facing spaces were designed to complement the architecturally renowned addition and heighten the end user’s experience throughout all areas of the building. Designed to LEED Silver standards, this renovation was the result of collaboration between many team members and consultants, including an internationally renowned design architect. Staff members and volunteers were engaged throughout the process and supplied real-time feedback that helped to shape decisions. Thanks to the renovation, the Joslyn Art Museum has been able to grow and improve its community education programs. With a more intuitive entryway now linking the gallery spaces to the staff suite, and offices redesigned for better organization, efficiency, and comfort, the Museum is better equipped to engage both visitors and staff.