Prism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S

Prism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - HandrailPrism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - FacadePrism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - FacadePrism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - SteelPrism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - More Images+ 15

Hollywood, United States

Prism is a new three-story contemporary art gallery located at the heart of the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. The mission of the gallery is to become a cornerstone of artistic experimentation, carving a new niche for the arts in Southern California. Alongside the exhibition space, the galleryalso houses a bookstore with a curated selection of texts and products.

Prism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - Facade
© Joshua White Photography

While PATTERNS’ involvement was limited to the envelope and interior,fxe this project presented the possibility of true material innovation: to be the first facade in the nation to be constructed entirely out of a resin-based composite polycarbonate.

Prism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - Facade
© Joshua White Photography

The project’s legal status as a renovation of an existing structure placed unique restrictions upon the scope of work and the inflections within the facade’s surface. An existing steel column grid left from a previous renovation predetermined floor-to-floor heights, and areas of existing stucco exterior walls from the original building provided opportunities for playful exchanges and guided the development of the design.

Prism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - Image 11 of 20
© Joshua White Photography

The gallery envelope is designed to create subtle sensations by inducing a physical and optical dynamism that both challenges and enhances the pedestrian movement along the iconic Sunset Strip. Its formal logic is the outcome of a productive negotiation between the ordering structural grid of the existing building and the intense vitality of the context.

Prism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - Glass
© Joshua White Photography

Almost theatrically, the facade surfaces appear to lift up and then down, dramatically opening the interior while suspending its mass over the strip and projecting a sense of weightiness for pedestrian and vehicular traffic approaching from the west. Deeply inspired by the supple forms, streamlined detailing and plastic finishes of automotive design, the facade has a dual aesthetic performance associated with plastic materiality and responsive to its lively context: it behaves as a reflectively glossy surface during the day and as a viscously translucent skin when lit from inside at night.

Prism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - Stairs, Handrail
© Joshua White Photography

As part of our collaboration with 3Form, a series of full-scale prototypes was developed and fabricated as an essential part of the design process. These prototypes were used to test various conditions affecting performance and aesthetics, cost and construction: from the limits of structure and its connections to mullions and polycarbonate panels, to issues pertaining to waterproofing and the behavior of a glossy translucent surface, to the examination of custom assembly details and connections that support and seal the finished facade.

Prism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S - Image 13 of 20
© Joshua White Photography

The material solution for the facade involves 3/8-inch resin-based polycarbonate panels, which are color dyed and extruded in a single pull. Color and translucence are entirely design controlled. Panels were heat-formed over medium-density fiberboard (MDF) molds. All waterproofing and thermal expansion and contraction are taken up by hardware at the face of the panels, freeing the facade from any substrate or interior wall.

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Project location

Address:Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

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About this office
Cite: "Prism Contemporary Art Gallery / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S" 29 Nov 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/91290/prism-contemporary-art-gallery-p-a-t-t-e-r-n-s> ISSN 0719-8884

© Joshua White Photography

棱镜当代艺术画廊 / P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S

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