A Ball State University facility for the celebration of the work of Franz Kline : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

For this section's Cripe Competition design problem, the students were asked to design a multi-use, predominantly gallery-dominated, facility, partially of their own definition focusing on an artist of their own choosing. The artist chosen had to be a practitioner—living or deceased—of one of the visual arts. For the purpose of this project, the visual arts were defined as the art forms of painting, photography, printmaking and filmmaking.The students were asked to choose how they would represent their artist in the design of the building—in fact they could chose not to assertively represent the artist in their design, but simply provide a functionally and spatially competent design solution for the specified program as a neutral background for the artist's work. They were, however, required to do two things in regard to the functionality of the building: they were asked to torque the functions of the spaces listed in the program to suit their artist and add or subtract spaces to the suggested program so as to better accommodate the activities that would be included in a facility devoted to the work of their artist. The students' choices of artists were: seven painters, two cinematographers, two photographers and one woodcut artist.The basic programmed spaces—that the students were to adapt and add to or subtract from—were the following:Two Galleries, one for the signature artist and one for a traveling artist of the same genreA Multi-purpose space: for lectures and multi-media presentationsResidential/studio accommodation for visiting artistsA CafeA Gift shop.Outdoor spaces connected as appropriate with the above-listed spacesAn Administration suiteAn Employee areaThe usual service areas: receiving/dock, mechanical areas, storage, etc.Also, the site for the project, at the corner of McKinley and University Avenues' essentially in an interstitial space between the University and The Village with an eye to both—and the unusual programmatic content of the project combined to give the students more latitude in material choice and form-making than would have been the case for a building site and function more strongly identified with the university.Honors CollegeThesis (B.?.