E x p a n d e d V i e w :

T h e N e w W i n g o f

t h e A n c h o r a g e Mu s e u m

a t R a s m u s o n C e n t e r

J u l i e D e c k e r

W i t h a F o r e w o r d b y

J a m e s Pe p p e r H e n r y ,

D i r e c t o r o f t h e

A n c h o r a g e Mu s e u m

P r i n c e t o n A r c h i t e c t u r a l P r e s s

N e w Yo r k

Published by

Princeton Architectural Press

37 East Seventh Street

New York, New York 10003

For a free catalog of books,

call 1.800.722.6657.

Visit our website at www.papress.com.

© 2010 Princeton Architectural Press

All rights reserved

Printed and bound in China

13 12 11 10 4 3 2 1 First edition

No part of this book may be used

or reproduced in any manner

without written permission from

the publisher, except in the

context of reviews.

Every reasonable attempt has

been made to identify owners of

copyright. Errors or omissions

will be corrected in subsequent editions.

Editor: Linda Lee

Designer: Erin Kim

Special thanks to: Nettie Aljian,

Bree Anne Apperley, Sara Bader,

Nicola Bednarek, Janet Behning,

Becca Casbon, Carina Cha, Tom Cho,

Penny (Yuen Pik) Chu, Carolyn Deuschle,

Russell Fernandez, Pete Fitzpatrick,

Wendy Fuller, Jan Haux, Clare Jacobson,

Nancy Eklund Later, Laurie Manfra,

John Myers, Katharine Myers, Dan Simon,

Andrew Stepanian, Jennifer Thompson,

Paul Wagner, Joseph Weston, and Deb Wood

of Princeton Architectural Press

—Kevin C. Lippert, publisher

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Expanded view : the new wing of the Anchorage Museum

at Rasmuson Center /

Julie Decker ; with a foreword by James Pepper Henry. —

1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-56898-892-4 (alk. paper)

1 . Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center. 2.

Chipperfield, David. 3.

Museum architecture—Alaska—Anchorage. 4.

Architecture—Alaska—Anchorage—History—21st century. 5.

Anchorage

(Alaska)—Buildings, structures, etc. I. Title.

F901.5.D43 2010

720.798’35—dc22

2009030429

F o r e w o r d b y J a m e s P e p p e r H e n r y

P r o j e c t C r e d i t s

I m a g e C r e d i t s

E x p a n d i n g H i s t o r y :

F o r t y Ye a r s o f

t h e A n c h o r a g e Mu s e u m

S e l e c t i o n P r o c e s s a n d

D e s i g n D e v e l o p e m e n t

C o n c e p t b y D a v i d C h i p p e r f i e l d

T h e B u i l d i n g R e a l i z e d

E x p a n d e d S c o p e

E x e c u t i o n

C o m p l e t e d C o n s t r u c t i o n

6

70

71

10

16

24

32

46

52

58

30C

oN

CE

PT

The new building’s concrete structure is exposed internally,

revealing the volumetric discipline, with inside spaces

created by infill walls between the structural columns.

The variety of nonexhibition public functions and the ethno-

graphic collections allowed for the movement away from

the white-box aesthetic of other museums. The palette of

materials and colors unites and enlivens a series of rooms

in the new wing (art exhibition spaces in plaster; ethno-

graphic exhibition spaces, lobby, and circulation spaces in

colored metal; and the atrium and cafe in colored/natural

timber). The floors are a continuous surface of polished

and honed cementitous topping, and ceilings are sus-

pended metal panels with integrated services and lighting.

The visitor to Anchorage is impressed by its Finisterre

quality—the exciting feeling of being near the edge of the

world and at a frontier point between man and nature.

Looking toward the landscape from the city, one cannot

fail to feel the power of the environment. While many cities

suppress their natural surroundings, Anchorage sits in awe

of its physical context.

M A T E R I A L R E S P o N S E S — I N T E R N A L

o B J E C T S A N D T H E L A N D

The fritting is mirrored to reflect the diverse qualities of light

throughout the annual cycle, and the glass has low iron

properties for color neutrality.

31C

oN

CE

PT

David Chipperfield, concept sketch

illustrating the horizontal, rectilinear

forms that make up the expansion.

The programmatic functions inside the

building drive its form.

The building is designed to continually bring the visitor in contact with both the natural and built surroundings through a carefully articulated series of views. —David Chipperfield

Th

e B

uild

ing

Re

aliz

ed

34T

HE

Bu

ILD

INg

RE

ALIz

ED

D avid Chipperfield knew what challenges he faced as

he made his way from the airplane to the downtown

core on his first trip to Anchorage. In Alaska the natural

landscape and weather dominate the man-made. While

his design for the Anchorage Museum is clearly a part of

his larger body of work and reveals a continuation of forms

and materials he has explored elsewhere, it is unquestion-

ably site specific, speaking directly to the city and to the

city’s relationship to its natural setting.

The four-story building features dramatic new views

of the setting, including a new perspective of the moun-

tains that surround Anchorage. Accessing these views

became the primary consideration for placement of the

fourth-floor gallery and design of the circulation flow in the

building. Instead of placing large galleries on the ground

floor, which would simplify the logistics of loading in exhibi-

tion materials, Chipperfield’s design draws the visitors up to

the vistas, through the structure to the third-floor galleries,

which feature a view of downtown Anchorage, and the

fourth-floor gallery, which offers a unique reward for the

vertical trip: an expansive view of the Chugach Foothills

that form the backdrop to Anchorage.

Model/massing study

35T

HE

Bu

ILD

INg

RE

ALIz

ED

The architecture of the museum responds to a

unique program: to accommodate the museum’s three

featured disciplines of art, science, and history—in one

facility. The ground floor features public services, such as

the admissions, a gift shop, and a cafe.

The large, cantilevered metal staircase that leads

people up to the fourth floor is a dramatic sculptural ele-

ment. Climbing the staircase offers glimpses from each

floor’s landing of the facade and the landscape outside.

The natural light prevents any space within the new wing

from feeling dark or closed in. Chipperfield was influenced

by the dramatic quality of light in Anchorage, where the

sun is often low on the horizon due to the latitudinal posi-

tion of the city. “The building takes on the light qualities that

are here,” Chipperfield says. “One of the great materials of

Alaska is the light.”

The exterior of the museum, visible from most of

downtown as well as from the museum’s new outdoor

plaza, is a unique, custom-designed facade featuring over

six hundred panels that are each four feet wide and nine-

teen to twenty-six feet high, and composed of insulated

fritted glass in custom aluminum frames. The decorative

Windows placed along the length of the

fourth-floor gallery offer views over the

existing building and to the mountains

to the east.

On the first floor, bright yellow panels

contrast with the structural concrete.

36T

HE

Bu

ILD

INg

RE

ALIz

ED

Typical facade detail

EXTRUDED SILICON GASKET1'-0 4'-0" 4'-0" 4'-0" 4'-0" 4'-0"

6'-8

"6'

-8"

6'-8

"19

'-0.5

"13

'-1"

ALUMINUM GRATING

SCRIM BLIND

ADDITIONAL BLACKOUT BLIND

VENTING

1/4" VENT HOLE AT EACH JAMB

GUIDERAIL FOR BLIND

1" LAMINATED INSULATED GLASS

1/2" LAMINATED ACCESS DOOR

PERFORATION

STOP BEAD

3/4" MAGNESIA SCREED

COATED METAL CEILING PANEL1/4" GLASS

(4 1/2" THICK)

MIRRORING METAL PANEL

MIRRORING METAL PANELBEHIND GLASS

BORDER SCREEN PRINTING

GASKET JOINT

5/8" SHADOW GAP

GALVANIZED BACK PANEL

WALL TYPE 01/ COVER PANEL(2 LAYER 1/2" PLASTERBOARD

SKIMMED AND PAINTED)

4" FRITTED PATTERNDIVIDED IN 4 STRIPES

CW-90 MINERAL WOOL INSULATION

3/4" FIN TUBE(WATER IN FIN TUBE 180° F)

WATERPROOF MEMBRANE

37T

HE

Bu

ILD

INg

RE

ALIz

ED

One of the glass panels is slid into

place on the west facade.

West facade nearing completion

fritting pattern was specially developed for the project. The

fabrication requirements of the facade were made more

challenging by the extreme environmental conditions. The

facade is made up of layered insulated glass: on the inner-

most layer, clear, low-iron sheets of glass; in the center,

a fritted pane with a silver reflective coating on one side

and a metallic finish on the other; and, on the outermost

layer, tempered, low-iron sheer glass. All facade units were

manufactured in China, where they were preassembled

prior to shipping to allow for easier installation. The result is

a reflective surface that appears to be constantly changing.

Transparency was critical to Chipperfield’s design

philosophy for the museum. The more than six hundred

glass panels allow people outside to see in and reflect

the sky and three hundred birch trees on the grounds.

The pattern of reflective versus translucent or transparent

glass was determined by the needs within the museum to

screen natural light within exhibit versus circulation spaces.

“The idea of this museum is to keep giving you opportuni-

ties to look outside the building,” Chipperfield says. This

is a deliberate change from the old-fashioned notion of a

museum, where activities are limited inwardly and objects

The roof of the original museum building

meets the new construction

38T

HE

Bu

ILD

INg

RE

ALIz

ED

must be held in dark boxes for protection. New technolo-

gies that allow for UV protection within the glass itself were

implemented here, allowing Chipperfield to incorporate,

albeit carefully, natural light. The contrast between a

new museum opened to light and the older model of a

museum as a facility that cannot accommodate natural

light is made more obvious with this project by the juxta-

position of the new extension with the existing building,

a brick-clad, colonnaded building designed by Mitchell/

Giurgola in 1986. The density of the form is intensified by

an exterior with few windows or punctuations of light.

While the expansion respects, preserves, and

nestles directly against the original, it deliberately subverts

the traditional architectural language of museum design

with more than its transparency. In addition to the inverted

arrangement of galleries, a nontraditional use of colors is

an unexpected departure from the white-walled museum

interior: bold yellow walls and a yellow fiberglass desk

greet visitors as they enter the lobby, warm wood tones

frame the central stair, and deep red walls and leather

chairs makes the cafe anything but the typical cold and

sterile. The interiors have a range of finishes, with exposed

Model for form studies

39T

HE

Bu

ILD

INg

RE

ALIz

ED

concrete columns throughout, while the gallery spaces

are a blank slate of drywall for exhibitions. The Museum

Building Committee continually stressed the importance of

creating a sense of warmth inside the building to contrast

with and mitigate the often-harsh elements outside.

Made of a series of horizontal, rectangular spaces

resting parallel to each other and stacked to varying

heights, the building is made of simple shapes with exqui-

site, quiet, timeless precision. The museum design allows

each visitor to experience the natural surroundings at the

same time as they observe the art within. It allows the

museum to reach out to the community and to reframe the

culture of Alaska.

North elevation

South elevation

West elevation