
Olson Kundig's Jordan Schnitzer Museum reflects its surroundings with red mirrored glass

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With a permanent art collection of approximately 3,500 pieces hailing from the 20th and 21st centuries, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Washington State University is arguably the most prestigious curatorial institution in Pullman, Washington, and joins a string of art museums founded by the Schnitzer family across the Pacific Northwest. The project opened in 2018 and was designed by Seattle's Olson Kundig, who stamped their presence within the campus with a bold crimson facade of mirrored glass panels.
The museum consists of two volumes encompassing a total of 16,000-square-feet. Visitors arrive through an entry built of glass-and-metal casement windows that can be opened in a similar fashion to a garage door. The primary glass volume houses the museum's gallery spaces and is lifted off the ground by an arcade of pilotis and, in some respects, resembles a hovering cube.
"A key design challenge was balancing the museum's dual needs for transparency and security," said Olson Kundig design principal Jim Olson. "The answer is a design that consists of two distinct parts: The first serves as an informal entry to the museum and the second space, the "crimson cube," is a climate-controlled space that houses the formal galleries and is enveloped by the crimson facade."
- Facade Manufacturer Hunter Douglas Steinfort Glas Vanceva
- Architect Olson Kundig
- Facade Installer Hoffman Construction
- Facade Consultant Front
- Location Pullman, WA
- Date of Completion 2018
- System Hunter Douglas rainscreen
- Products Steinfort mirrored glass Vanceva OECE Interlayer