EDC May 2012 : Page-37C
ALL IMAGES © MICHAEL MORAN. ABOVE The team worked to preserve the architectural integrity during the renovation. BELOW The 1877 building has held a movie theater, department store and now a museum. 57x13-foot-high wall. The reconfiguration of the existing building houses an elegant, sunny entry lounge, first floor gal-leries and open administrative office space, a dedicated video/ film gallery, a 90-seat community screening room, two artist’s studios, a public mezzanine lounge, and a rooftop event space that serves as an outdoor theater, as well. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the entry lobby open the building to the street, allowing sidewalk views for curious passersby. A sculptural plaster awning intensifies the open, bright look of the structure. The exterior skin of the museum is perforated with 177 custom 4x16-inch laminated glass units, clustered to allow natural light into the building. At night the building is lit by LED lighting, creating an animated façade. The original Queen Theatre’s large stucco murals received careful restoration. The original wood rafters and steel trusses in the ceilings were stripped down and left exposed for a grand, high-ceilinged look. An imposing central stair allows once unutilized access to the second floor, striking a magnificent pose, made of imported Brazilian Ipe wood and suspended dramatically up to 35 feet down from the rooftop where a skylight was added. Cooling towers were added to the 5,000-square-foot roof deck constructed of warm brown Ipe wood and laminated glass boxes. The deck provides panoramic views of Austin’s skyline and now serves as functional event space. The original elevator in the building was basically useless, so to accommodate the limited existing space, an old fashioned-style roped hydraulic elevator was installed. Many creative solutions were required in the revitalization of this ar-tistic space which took approximately 10 months to complete, 37C edc may .2012 for which Structura received the Association of General Contractors Specialty Construction award in January. Bruce Lowe, project manager for Structura assigned to head the Arthouse venture, describes the Arthouse assignment as “an excit-ing challenge from a logistics stand point. Structura is excited to have completed such a venerable downtown structure, and we so enjoyed the team of architects and engineers we worked with on this premier project.” edc
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