Design challenges pay off for museum

Museum of Wisconsin Art

There were many challenges to overcome when constructing a new building for the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend — from a triangular-shaped lot to a tight budget.

So when museum leaders said they wanted a space that had somewhat contrasting goals, Jim Shields, vice president, design principal in HGA Architects and Engineers’ Milwaukee office, rolled with the additional challenge.

“They wanted a building that did opposing things,” Shields said. “That is, on one hand they wanted a building that could kind of be a monument for West Bend, a standout building. [But] generally speaking those buildings aren’t really designed to make the art look good.”

Shields, who was the lead designer, worked to create an attractive building where the art took precedence. Because the site is a perfect triangle, with a 22-and-a-half-degree sharp point, the building is triangular, as well.

The building’s triangular shape was helpful in achieving museum leaders’ goal of galleries of varying sizes, Shields said. There are small galleries in the museum’s points, with a larger gallery in the center.

“He designed a building, a museum that would be subservient to the art,” said Laurie Winters, CEO and executive director of MOWA. “Jim intentionally did not want to do a mega star [building]. He wanted to build a museum that would take secondary to the art.”

The most significant obstacle was not the site or the space’s many goals, but the tight budget.

It cost $225 per square foot to build the 31,000-square-foot, two-level museum, which replaced an older facility. The price per square foot for an average museum is about $450 to $500, Shields said.

“Everything on the project was done economically,” he said. “It is a lightweight steel frame. A lot of museum buildings are cast concrete.”

Another cost-saving measure was the use of large acoustic tiles on the ceiling instead of drywall.

The efforts have been a boost to the museum, and the community. Attendance increased 700 percent in the first few months after the new building opened.

In 2012, at its old location, MOWA saw fewer than 10,000 visitors. The museum now projects yearly attendance to more than double to at least 35,000 visitors annually.

In the future, a bridge over the Milwaukee River will connect the museum with downtown West Bend. The city also plans to renovate the riverfront to make a pedestrian-friendly walkway, Winters said.

“It’s tremendous,” she said, “what we are able to add to the community.”