The renovation of the Photography Department of the Art Institute of Chicago (unbuilt) provided an opportunity to create a new flexible, expanded gallery for photographic work of varying scales and new, expanded support space for the growth of the department and its collection.
Located in the lower level, with compressed ceilings and little in the way of legibility outside the subterranean, the existing constraints on the gallery and the exhibits that could be mounted were great. The photography department desired a more defined entry, a simpler to transform space and more ceiling height for large-scale works.
Through a series of interventions, ceiling height was raised strategically, along the perimeter walls to provide more wall height as well as the sense of lift and in the central space to provide definition even in an open space. The entry was redefined by a new wider portal that re-used two formerly closed openings and with a series of sliding panels that could be used to mount artwork, the gallery is extended beyond it’s threshold. A series of movable panels was designed to provide an easily transformable gallery.
