• Seattle Art Museum

    Seattle, Washington

    Occupying part of a downtown block in a building designed by Robert Venturi in 1990, the Seattle Art Museum looked into the feasibility of partnering with Washington Mutual bank in a mixed-use development which would enable the museum to expand. In a 40-story tower adjacent to the museum, the bank would work upstairs, while the museum would have new space in the base of the building, and both would get ample parking underneath it. Cooper, Robertson prepared both an expansion program and a design concept plan for the expansion. A central idea was the urban art museum's role as a large civic space supporting a variety of art and activities. Dubbed the SAM Forum, this space would feature educational, retail, and dining areas, all framed by a 'vitrine wall' with an adaptable tectonic matrix and sun-control system on which images from the exhibition program would be displayed in ever-changing rotation.


    Client: Seattle Art Museum
    Size: 300,000 square feet
    Completion: Conceptual Design 2002
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