ARCHITECTS SELECTED FOR CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM’S MIXED-USE PROJECT
Clearscapes | Pugh+Scarpa team chosen to create modern, integrated design for museum, residential, retail, office destination in Raleigh’s warehouse district
Charlotte, NC – November 14, 2006 – Raleigh’s Contemporary Art Foundation and Grubb Properties today announced the selection of Clearscapes and Pugh+Scarpa as the architecture team for the Foundation’s one-block museum-anchored mixed-use site on West Martin Street. As previously announced, the warehouse district site is slated to become the permanent home for CAM (Contemporary Art Museum) as well as a collection of arts-oriented retail shops, offices and condominium residences.
The Contemporary Art Foundation was formed earlier this year when the Contemporary Art Museum separated into two entities: museum operations and programming, under the CAM name, as part of NC State University’s College of Design; and ownership of the downtown property and capital fundraising under the Foundation, with the mission of establishing a permanent museum home for CAM, creating a vibrant urban cultural center around CAM in Raleigh’s warehouse district, and nurturing creativity throughout the region.
The selection of Clearscapes | Pugh+Scarpa came after months of community discussions; a three-day planning session with local government, planning and business leaders; and a nationwide RFP process that resulted in substantive reviews of multiple architectural firms with urban, mixed-use and museum expertise. Raleigh-based Clearscapes is well-known for a range of innovative arts-based projects, including the interactive and historically sensitive Exploris Museum and the mixed-use revitalization of the Pine State Creamery, both in Raleigh. Pugh+Scarpa, with offices in Santa Monica, California and Charlotte, brings a reputation for exploratory Modern architectural design and ten consecutive national AIA Honor Awards.
“From day one, we’ve been committed to a plan for the museum, this site and the city that stretched the boundaries of urban design and integrated art into the everyday life of the community,” Carson Holding Brice, board chair for the Contemporary Art Foundation, said. “Clearscapes and Pugh+Scarpa not only share that vision but have a history of creating inventive and extraordinary environments. We’re looking forward to working with them to achieve our goal of a permanent and influential museum space in the city.”
The integration of museum space with other downtown real estate uses – particularly street-level retail and multifamily residences – is a growing trend recently highlighted by the national Urban Land Institute. Mixed-use plans for CAM join similar projects in Denver, Louisville, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and elsewhere as examples of innovative land use that enriches urban communities while providing otherwise unavailable funding for the arts.
Principals at Grubb Properties, the Foundation’s development partner in the project, have a history of involvement with the arts as well as expertise in developing high-profile urban mixed-use environments.
“We’re very pleased with the collaborative approach Clearscapes and Pugh+Scarpa have created to address this project,” Clay Grubb, president of Grubb Properties, said. “Both firms have demonstrated exceptional, award-winning design creativity over the years as well as a sensitivity to historic settings and public art. We believe that the right team is in place now to create the landmark destination that the museum – and the city of Raleigh – so richly deserve.”
Additional details
The CAM property, at 409 West Martin Street, is one block from the proposed Triangle Transit Center. Preliminary design discussions include two full levels plus soaring interior space – as well as a short list of key functional components such as: both large and intimate gallery spaces; classrooms to serve teachers, students and school partnerships; and new technology as both an art form and educational tool.
Based upon patterns seen here and in other cities, Grubb Properties and the Foundation envision this project as yet another cornerstone for a wave of economic development in Raleigh’s emerging warehouse district.
In February of this year, CAM (Contemporary Art Museum) became an initiative of NC State’s College of Design under the College’s “Art + Design in the Community Initiative”. This affiliation combines the powerful exhibitions presented by CAM with the educational expertise of the university to create a transformational museum experience. At the same time, the Contemporary Art Foundation was created to transform the West Martin Street site into a vibrant cultural center, celebrate contemporary art and nurture creativity throughout the region.
“CAM is a tangible expression of the importance of creativity in our society,” Marvin Malecha, dean of NC State’s College of Design, said. “This is a meshing of sympathetic missions. Both entities encourage creativity and community engagement through art and design. It is a further expansion of our ability to get beyond the boundaries of the traditional university.”
Grubb Properties, with a current managed portfolio of nearly 2000 apartment residences and one million square feet of office and retail space, has become recognized primarily for two large-scale mixed-use projects in Charlotte:
§ Morrison, a 24-acre shopping, dining and residential neighborhood in the heart of Charlotte’s upscale SouthPark shopping district; and
§ Elizabeth Avenue, a five-block revitalization project along Charlotte’s planned streetcar line – just blocks from the city center, the district will feature the city’s first Whole Foods Market and an assortment of shopping, dining, entertainment, office space and upscale multifamily residences.
About Grubb Properties
Grubb Properties was founded in 1963 in Lexington, NC. After an initial focus on building, financing and selling affordable homes to low-income families, the company has grown to become one of North Carolina’s premier real estate firms with integrated expertise in residential, commercial and mixed-use development, acquisition, financing, construction, property management, sales and leasing. Grubb Properties now has approximately 105 employees and oversees a management and/or leasing portfolio of roughly 2,000 apartment homes and one million square feet of office and retail space. The company is headquartered in Charlotte and maintains offices in Cary and Lexington, North Carolina. For additional information about Grubb Properties visit www.grubbproperties.com.
About CAM
CAM (Contemporary Art Museum) was established in 1983 as the City Gallery of Contemporary Art to address a gap, identified by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, in the area’s cultural community. CAM has a long and distinguished history of presenting important exhibitions representing both national and international artists. CAM’s mission is to present contemporary art and design in order to explore the role of creativity in everyday life and to inspire understanding and appreciation of our changing world. CAM’s facility will address its role as an urban cultural center, a downtown meeting place, a catalyst for change, and vital element in the region’s urban renaissance. Its exhibitions will explore the intersections of art with every aspect of life to motivate the creativity that gives each of us our competitive edge. For additional information about the Contemporary Arts Museum, visit www.camnc.org.
About Clearscapes
Clearscapes, based in downtown Raleigh, is a multi-disciplinary design firm that was established in 1981. Comprised of 22 artists and architects, the firm focuses on cultural facilities, higher education, urban mixed use, and large scale public art. Current work includes the new Raleigh Convention Center, four performing art theaters in communities across North Carolina, the 23-acre revitalization of the N. Blount Street historic neighborhood in downtown Raleigh, and public art installations in Phoenix, Calgary, and Tallahassee. Notable projects completed in downtown Raleigh include the mixed-use Hudson on Fayetteville Street, the Exploris Museum and IMAX Theater, and the Creamery on Glenwood South. For additional information about Clearscapes, visit www.Clearscapes.com.
About Pugh+Scarpa
Pugh+Scarpa is an architecture, engineering, interior design and planning firm founded in Santa Monica in 1991. Over the last six years, the firm has received thirty-five major design awards, is one of ten worldwide finalists for the World Habitat Award, and presently has work on exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. Pugh+Scarpa has 22 professionals and is currently working on an assortment of commissions for public, private and institutional clients around the country. Pugh+Scarpa maintains offices in Santa Monica, California and Charlotte, North Carolina. For additional information, visit www.pugh-scarpa.com.
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Posted: November 14, 2006 - News | More News
