Frederick Fisher & Partners has designed a 9,000-square-foot addition to the Colby Museum of Art on the campus of one of the nation's most respected liberal arts institutions. The new Lunder Wing will showcase the college's outstanding collection of Early American, Impressionist and Early 20th Century art, including the John Marin Collection.
Located in Waterville, Maine, the $1.3-million project is scheduled for completion in July. In addition to designing the new wing, the Los Angeles firm provided master planning for the future growth of the museum.
"The Colby campus is a collection of Georgian Revival-style buildings," said Joseph Coriaty, partner-in-charge of the project at Frederick Fisher & Partners. "The challenge was to design a building that melded with the existing campus architecture and exhibition space that related to a specific period in American art."
A simple, more purified version of the Georgian vernacular, the Lunder Wing meets several design criteria. The new addition is the unifying element in a museum complex of divergent building styles. In organization and scale, the design of the exhibition space relates specifically to the college's Early American collection. The domestic scale of the galleries, which feature richly colored walls, alludes to the private homes where the art was originally shown. The exterior of the building, with its slate roof and brick facade, further evokes the residential feel of the space.
"Fisher is recognized as a leader in museum gallery and exhibition design for his many contemporary projects in California and New York and key international commissions," said Hugh Gourley, director of the Colby Museum of Art. "In designing the Lunder Wing, Fisher brings a clear vision for the building as an educational setting for our Early American collection, and he uses it to unite existing elements of the museum complex. Coming into our New England climate, he has masterfully integrated his contemporary California sensibility with a keen eye for traditional materials and historical references."
Frederick Fisher & Partners is an internationally recognized architectural firm specializing in the design of arts facilities and residential projects, with experience in commercial and institutional work as well. Based in Los Angeles, Calif., the award-winning firm has completed projects throughout the United States and in Germany and Japan. Among its most prestigious commissions are the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City, N.Y., which earned the firm the Brendan Gill Prize in design from the Municipal Arts Society of New York; Berlinische Galerie, the municipal art museum in Berlin; the Lunder Wing addition to the Colby Art Museum in Waterville, Maine; and the Eli Broad Family Foundation in Santa Monica, Calif.
