New Growth

As Middlebury College entered the year 2022, a new promise was cresting the horizon: the official planning for the new museum building. This structure is slated to not only house exhibitions, storage, and special collections, among other museum-related spaces, but it will also contain student activity zones, meeting spaces, classrooms, studios, and more. Once completed it will be the new hub of student life united with the beauty and cultural history of art. This proposed museum design focuses heavily on deconstructing the hierarchy associated with museum spaces by positioning temporary exhibition spaces in direct paths to classroom spaces and along the main axis hallway of the building. The sectors of the building housing those classrooms and exhibition spaces are flowing spaces designed to resemble river eddies, encouraging slower, more contemplative movement in contrast to the main hallway reserved for faster movement through the building. Windows, both interior and exterior, provide a visual taste of the space beyond, enticing patrons to explore more of the building and the artwork within it. The design of the structure, its thresholds, and the surrounding landscape are all aspects informed by the nature of Vermont and precedents throughout the college campus that produce accessible and welcoming spaces for all aspects of student life.