Part of Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts, a complex of iconic 1970s buildings by the renowned firm Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, the 6,400 sf Zilkha Gallery project was an exacting exercise in the special challenges of preserving a modern structure. The firm’s commission was to make the gallery adaptable for the display of contemporary art of various media, while preserving the monumental character of the original architecture.

The renovation program included upgrading all building systems including new museum-quality lighting, HVAC, and display rigging, as well as light-controlling window treatments, skylight replacement, lobby furnishings, and new and restored interior finishes. Twenty-foot-tall walls of exposed limestone, which were cleaned and meticulously re-grouted, give the gallery its distinctive character yet posed challenges for hanging art and generated problematic acoustics. BFA resolved these issues by adding a discrete system of hanging rails as well as new acoustical plaster on the ceilings and resilient natural cork on the floor.

Kevin Roche praised the renovation when he attended the gallery’s rededication ceremony in 2004.

• Read Monty Freeman’s observations about Roche’s work in Places Journal
• See his interview in the film Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect

2006 AIA New York State Design Awards, Merit
2004 AIA Connecticut Design Awards, Honorable Mention