arkitrave design portfolio

contemporary art museum

Located at the edge of the Erie Canal in Lockport, the project was an entry to the ACSA Wood Products competition. The competition guidelines called for a building primarily of wood, and of about 20,000 square feet.

Drawing from the canal as a product of industry's intervention in nature, the building is conceived of as two parts - a structure of steel trusses in a regular grid, and a series of twisting galleries resting on this structure. The building meets the ground at only two points; the first floor of the museum is structural as well as inhabitable.

The lobby, offices, and ancillary spaces are within the first floor trusses; the three small galleries are above along with the cafe, shop, and auditorium. The large gallery is located on the lowest level, spilling out into a gorge at the rear of the site.

architecture projects