The museum is, in essence, a single 65,000-square-foot room, separated by partial height walls into galleries, none a discrete, fully enclosed room.  Overhead, hundreds of elliptical occuli bathe the interior in even, full-spectrum daylight, modulated to filter out damaging rays. In this gently luminous setting, the artwork takes on heightened vividness.  Outside, matte anodized aluminum panels that enclose the building continue the discourse with the landscape.  From oblique vantage points on the exterior, underlying strips of polished stainless steel capture unexpected and scintillating reflections.

 The project The project is recipient of a 2011 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Award for Architecture.
© Scott FrancesInside the North Carolina Museum of Art, the light of day and the lush surrounding hills have a presence unusual in institutional galleries for art. Overhead, hundreds of elliptical occuli, in long, parallel, coffered vaults bathe the museum’s interior in even, full-spectrum daylight, modulated in intensity by layered materials that filter out damaging rays. In the gently luminous setting, against pure white walls, the artwork takes on heightened immediacy and vividness.