Knox College Whitcomb Art Center Building, Illinois Architecture Photos
Knox College Whitcomb Art Center Building
Prairie Street Facility in Galesburg, Illinois, USA ? design by Lake|Flato Architects
Jul 14, 2018
Knox College Whitcomb Art Center Building
Design: Lake|Flato Architects
Location: S Prairie St, Galesburg, Illinois, USA
Knox College Whitcomb Art Center Building
The Whitcomb Art Center creates a vibrant new home for Knox College?s arts programs and provides a fresh new take on Galesburg?s Midwest Americana charm.
Reflecting the self-described scrappy and unconventional community, this building is a high-performing workhorse made of simple industrial materials carefully assembled in surprising and elegant ways. Crafted of pre-engineered metal, the exterior blends into the nearby urban fabric.
The rhythmic saw-tooth roofline, skylights that harvest north daylight, and accents of reclaimed brick and wood combine to create a hardworking facility that fits within and also transcends its industrial context.

By consolidating the studio art and art history departments, the Whitcomb Art Center plays a significant role in stimulating creative, explorative, and entrepreneurial culture. A series of double height studios, galleries and critique spaces foster a vibrant interdisciplinary art community. Open stairs, intimate informal seating areas and public pin-up spaces encourage the exchange of ideas.

Operable panels enable studios to open to adjacent spaces to encourage c...