A Skin that Shimmers in North Carolina

A small transparent structure that doubles as a pristine outdoor sculpture at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh has won a national AIA Small Project Award.

That’s in addition to local, state and regional AIA awards the “Art as Shelter” project has already racked up.

Designed by Mike Cindric of Design Dimension and Vincent Petrarca of Tonic Design, the building is perched atop a breeze-ridden ridge in the museum’s 164-acre sculpture garden. At a modest 1,000 square feet, it does double duty as a pavilion to view works of art installed in nature and as a studio for visiting students.

“It’s a respite to get out of the sun and take it easy,” Mike said. “In the fall and winter, it’s a viewing platform. “But it’s a classroom for the kids too.”

The budget? A mere $65,000, provided by a grant from Lowe’s Home Improvement.

Materials are steel tubing, perforated aluminum and wooden floors. It offers collapsible tables and seats on frosted acrylic-clad boxes that also contain art supplies for the students.

At 14 feet high and 32 feet long, it’s open, airy and spacious. Wrapped in a membrane of the perforated aluminum, it provides a hierarchy of visual opportunities.

“There’s a big window, a horizontal banded window and a big doorway,” Mike said. “All of them are completely transparent – and they overlook the prairie and the sculptures.”

Then there’s the opportunity to look through a single layer of the perforated aluminum, at the landscape, the trails and the tree line. And finally, there’s the perforated metal that’s double-layered to almost, but not entirely, obscure the view.

All that perforation gives off a special effect as a visitor circles the structure.

“When you walk around it, there’s a moiré pattern that dances in the light,” Mike said. “It’s got a skin that shimmers.”

For more on Tonic Design, go to http://www.tonic-design.com/

For more on Design Dimension, go to http://www.designdimension.com/