The Yale Sculpture Building and Gallery complex is composed of three new buildings; the four-story Sculpture Building, the single-story storefront Gallery, and the four-story parking garage with retail space at the ground floor. While the Gallery and parking structure define the perimeter of the block, the sculpture building is slightly set back and forms the core of the project.

As its name suggest, the 51,000 sq. ft. Sculpture Building is home for the Sculpture programs of Yale’s School of Art. Three floors of individual and group fourteen-foot-high studios flooded with natural light, sit on top of the ground floor and basement that host the classrooms, workshops, administrative spaces and utilities. The architects opted for an exposed steel-frame structure, a modern reinterpretation of the loft. This approach yielded open flexible spaces capable of changing with time and accommodating a wide range of activities.

Photographs by Peter Aaron/Esto
All Photographs and Illustrations are courtesy of the AIA

Site Plan

The 3,000-square-foot Gallery is an extension of Yale University's arts district and its well renowned buildings, such as Paul Rudolph's Art and Architecture Building, Louis Kahn's Art Gallery and Mellon Center for British Art. It holds exhibitions of international contemporary art as well as the work of students in all School of Art programs. The Gallery plays the vital role of bridging the school with the neighboring New Haven community. Its street front elevations are largely cladded with recovered Cedar. The warm appearance of the Cedar helps in the integration of the building its urban environment, composed mostly of Victorian houses and buildings dating from the twenties and thirties.
The project is easily accessible from surrounding blocks with landscaped passages that converge to a small open courtyard and the entrance to the Sculpture building.
This project has earned a well-deserved LEED Platinum rating from the US Green Building Council, through innovative features that the architects injected in the project from the earliest stages of design.

The façade of the Sculpture Building possesses a high level of energy performance while staying predominantly transparent. It features a triple glazed, low-e vision panel, 8-foot high operable windows and translucent double cavity spandrel panels. The project team oriented the Sculpture Building to minimize eastern exposure and almost eliminate western exposure. South-facing windows, incorporating solar shading, provide natural daylight while protecting from the summer glare and heat gain.

The designers installed a displacement ventilation system. Increased energy efficiency is achieved by the supply of fresh air at low velocities and higher-than-usual temperatures. The workshops are equipped with comprehensive exhaust systems that adjust to the number of machines running.
Occupancy sensors are designed to automatically switch off the lights in unoccupied areas. They also dim the artificial lights of occupied spaces in presence of natural illumination.
Waterless urinals, dual-flush toilets, and low-flow faucets reduce water use, and rainwater collected from the roof of the Sculpture Building and surrounding landscape is used to flush toilets, eliminating the use of potable water for sewage transfer.

Earlier this month the project received the 2009 CAE Educational Facility Design Awards, in the Excellence category.


Project Details and Credits:

Project Name: Yale University Sculpture Building and Gallery
Location: New Haven, CT
Cost: $37.8 million
Built Area: 62,000 sq. feet (5,760 sq. meters)
Year of completion: 2007

Yale University Staff and Consultants:
Associate Vice President Construction & Renovation: John Bollier
University Planner: Laura Cruickshank, AIA
Director of Project Management and Construction: Sam Carbone
Program Manager: Thomas Tomsich, RA
Project Manager: R.Charles Ebner

Architects: KieranTimberlake
Design Partners: Stephen Kieran, FAIA, James Timberlake, FAIA
Associates in Charge: James Unkefer, AIA, Johann Mordhorst, AIA
Project Architect: Steven Johns, AIA
Team: Ruth Benjamin, Greg Canaras, AIA, Kate Cella, Kate Czembor, AIA,
Andrew Evans, Alex Gauzza, Jeff Harper, Isaiah King, Jeremy Leman, AIA,
Ryan Mellier, Ashraf Osman, Kevin Pratt, Joyce Raybuck, Seth Trance,
Erica Weiss, Paul Worrell, AIA, Evan Yassky, AIA, Zinat Yusufzai, AIA

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