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A striking new museum for historic Roanoke, Virginia, inspired by the Shenandoah Valley

A powerful asymetrical exchange of stainless steel, coated zinc and translucent glass

The heart of the museum is the Atrium — a dramatic event space by day or night

Creative lighting solutions define the galleries while protecting the artwork

A sleek modern meeting room complete with high-tech bells and whistles

A boardroom whose walls and ceilings follow the architecture

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Taubman Museum of Art

Location:

Style: Business Meetings

This dramatic new museum in Roanoke, Virginia, is a powerful and uplifting statement that embraces the future while honoring its setting and its history

In late 2008, downtown Roanoke, Virginia, welcomed its first purpose-built art museum and its first building of contemporary architecture. The Taubman Museum of Art has a striking modern presence in the historic business district, surrounded by low-rise brick buildings reflecting the city’s industrial and manufacturing roots. The message is clear — Roanoke seeks to establish its place as a 21st century cultural destination, and its new museum decidedly puts it on the map. 

The Taubman Museum of Art houses permanent collections of 19^th and 20^th century American art, contemporary art, and the decorative arts. The museum was designed by Los Angeles-based architects Randall Stout Architects, whose works have garnered awards virtually every year since they opened their offices in 1997. In 2009, the firm received the International Architecture Award by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. This is a highly prestigious award that recognizes the work itself as well as its impact on the future of architectural design.

The building’s shape and materials represent, however abstract, the dominating qualities of the adjoining Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains. The appearance of the museum from all sides is dramatic and emotional. Sharp angles and straight lines of the 75-foot atrium lobby rise above the other building sections as if pointing to the future. In strong contrast to the angular atrium are the museum’s curved walls and undulating roofs of stainless steel “shingles.”  The museum’s roofs are “split apart” into layers, allowing natural daylight into the galleries and concourses.

The museum features many interior spaces that can be rented for meetings and corporate or social gatherings. The focal point of the museum’s public spaces is the Atrium. The translucent roof creates a unique ambiance while reducing glare and heat in the lobby. This same space provides a softly illuminated setting in the evening. There are dedicated rooms for seminars and lectures, a boardroom, auditorium, and classrooms, all in a contemporary atmosphere consistent with the building’s architecture.

Images courtesy of Taubman Museum of Art