Buffalo Rising was granted an exclusive peek into the new Burchfield-Penney Art Center. This part of Buffalo State College will be a welcome standout in the triad of museums in what is known as the Museum District, neighboring the Albright-Knox and the Buffalo Historical Society.
The first Buffalo museum to be built in 100 years is coming onto the scene with a commanding presence. Though there are a lot of details still to be resolved, most immediately having to do with wrapping up the capital campaign through additional private funding and naming rights, the new BPAC facility, designed by Guggenheim-expansion architects, Gwathmey and Siegel, and under construction by LPCiminelli, Inc., has three main objectives according to Ted Pietrzak, Director.
"We want to be a museum where art is paramount, a place for people--with a thought to their needs--and a place that will wow its visitors," Pietrzak said. To those ends, the 84, 000 square foot structure will be beautifully built-out with stylish elements that include covering the exterior in zinc, cast stone and manganese-glazed brick. Inside, terrazzo and maple flooring will dominate the public space. Radiant floors will be used in the galleries, where lighting grids can be raised and lowered to create the appropriate ceiling heights for the art. There will also be a café and lounge area with high-end food and drink. "We want people to hang out and feel comfortable," Pietrzak said. "There will be tables outside for sitting among the outdoor sculptures, lounging and people-watching."
The museum will be outfitted with three bays for diverse education programs, as well as a high-tech auditorium where staff and community will work together to make the BPAC a forum for interactive "art and ideas" displays. Collection study spaces and art classrooms will offer programs for audiences from pre-K to adult. "We learned from our travels to Oberlin and Williams Colleges and Cornell University--who have museums that are attached to schools--how we can best fill our mission. We learned from MOMA about lighting systems and floor treatments. The concept of a visitor experience where the visitor sees everything in the gallery without retracing their steps replicates the original Guggenheim," Pietrzak said. Stunning spaces include the feature gallery, which will be 147 feet by 48 feet and have 28-foot-high ceilings.
The most visually "different" element from the outside of the building includes zinc panels that will cover the long, curved wall on Elmwood Avenue. The zinc is a “green building” material that will age to a distinctive patina over time. The Burchfield Rotunda will be the building’s iconic element, clad in cast stone that will flow into the interior of the building. Inside, this honorific space dedicated to Charles E. Burchfield follows his wishes for a round gallery. It will show the changes of season as seen through his paintings within, and the lighting will be layered so as to replicate a skylight. The Rotunda's upper floor, attached to the main reception hall, will be available to rent for parties and receptions. It will be, as Pietrzak said, a great place to hang out, observe and enjoy a drink, especially because it joins a glass wall that overlooks the reception area.
"The auditorium will be an intimate space with seating for 156, where we hope to host poetry readings, music recitals, lectures, films and video presentations," Pietrzak said. The auditorium will have special acoustic panels, a projection booth, built-in recording capabilities, and a stage that measures 20 feet deep, by 30 feet wide.
"An 80-foot-long community gallery will continue our program, working with various non-for-profit community groups in an ongoing rotation of artworks created by them," Pietrzak said.
There will also be an art conservation area, where restoration being done on artworks will be viewable to the public through a window. Students of the college will be able to work along with experts, restoring art and paper artifacts, such as watercolors, prints, books, and manuscripts. The room will be outfitted with necessary tools of the trade, including vacuum tables and microscopes. Art storage areas will be equipped with high-density storage systems on rails, ultra sensitive climate-controlled equipment and gaseous, rather then water-based, fire suppression systems. Pietrzak hopes that the conservationists' services will be available to the general public.
With a minimum of visual pollution (switches and sensors), the gallery will have a lot of wall space and windows, with northern and southern exposure and controllable light. The light can be cut down to zero depending on the nature of the medium being displayed. The 28-foot-high windows in the galleries will have electronically controlled curtains. Every inch of the new BPAC is being used efficiently, and with the public in mind.
There is going to be an opportunity for artists to vie for the honor of creating a major artwork for the BPAC's Elmwood side and another at the entrance. And lest one thinks the honor is the only reward, there is $140K available for the two sculptures. To those interested artists out there: This is a paid gig. And to those of you who have the means and would like to be part of history, donations are still being sought to bring the museum to its $34M goal.
The grand opening will take place next summer. "We're a few weeks behind right now, but we plan to open on June 11th, 2008 for 31 hours straight. People should get their memberships now, because they're going up soon."
Membership:
$10 Students
$30 Individual
$45 Family
burchfield-penney.org
Editors Note: The BPM piece that appears in this month's BRM is the unedited, marked-up, very bad version of this story, containing random words and characters. In short, it is an editor's nightmare. Thank you for reading this instead. -ECB