McMurtry Art and Art History Building, Palo Alto

About

The McMurtry Building is the home of the Department of Art & Art History at Stanford University. The form of the building articulates the identity of each program by locating their respective spaces in discrete strands, and is designed to foster a collaboration between both programs, which together form a gentle embrace and frame a third volume containing the Art & Architecture Library. These three interlocking volumes create a powerful sculptural image underscored by the finishes: the Art History volume is clad in yellow stucco, echoing the campus buildings; the Art section is wrapped in vertically patterned zinc, in tune with the industrial image of the workshops; and the library is clad in a continuous surface of glass panels. The library is inspired by the traditional Stanford courtyard, becoming a super-charged and multi-layered meeting ground. Despite the conceptual simplicity of the building, based on a diagram of uses, the complex geometry of the interstitial spaces and the generous use of translucent glass allows views into its interior rooms and indoor-outdoor workspaces encourage cross-disciplinary creativity between students, faculty, and visitors.

Sources

• Arquitectura Viva