Gregg Museum of Art and Design
Raleigh, NC
Client
Size
Completion Date
Sustainability
Awards
North Carolina State University
25,127 square feet
2017
LEED Gold®
Honor Award, AIA South Atlantic Region, 2019 | Honor Award, AIA North Carolina, 2018 | Honor Award, AIA Triangle, 2018 | Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Community Appearance, 2018
Architect
Our role
Perkins&Will
Kenneth Luker served as Design Principal during previous association with Perkins&Will.
All photographs © Mark Herboth Photography LLC unless otherwise indicated.
The Gregg Museum of Art and Design is nestled in a bucolic garden setting at the ‘gateway’ edge of NC State University’s campus. The design repurposes the university’s historic chancellor’s residence and surrounding gardens as the anchor for the new museum. A contemporary addition sits humbly alongside the historic residence and includes flexible, high-bay galleries, archival storage, a conservation/teaching lab, and building services. Ground level rooms of the historic residence were reimagined as domestic scaled galleries while the more private upper floor was repurposed as offices for the museum’s administration.
Inspired by the Gregg’s rich collection of quilts and textiles, galleries of the museum are stitched together by intimate threshold experiences that connect new with old and interior with exterior. The museum’s simple, modern volumes are sympathetic to the historic residence. Eastern white cedar siding compliments the scale and façade patterning of the brick structure. Interior and exterior galleries support exhibit curation by situating the museum’s rich collection of domestic arts—quilting, ceramics, weaving, furniture, and textiles—within the residential structure and its addition to encourage deeper appreciation for how the arts enrich daily life. Meticulous curated glass walls delineate building entrances, frame landscape vistas, and connect the visitor experience to nearby allied art institutions.
Working closely with the neighboring Pullen Baptist Church and Pullen Park Arts Center, the project established a three-party, shared access and stormwater management agreement to create a continuous park landscape for patrons of the complex’s three institutions. This work supported both the Gregg and the Arts Center in accomplishing LEED Gold certification. The design facilitates numerous campus and community activities that extend conventional exhibit programs and transform the museum into a cultural and social destination.
