Winter Visual Arts Center

On the historic campus of Franklin & Marshall College a new fine arts building has replaced the Herman Arts Center. This is the first phase of a proposed New Arts Quad which will define the southwest entrance to Franklin & Marshall’s campus.

The upper building volume with its lightweight steel structure rests on a solid basement with recessed load bearing walls on the first floor and a highly transparent glass facade in the center.
Knippers Helbig provide facade design and engineering for the building envelope, which comprises transparent and opaque vertical facades, soffit claddings and skylights. A double layer of glass channels filled with translucent insulation and spans up to 14’ shall provide the interior space with diffuse light. Frameless glass on ground level maximizes transparency and sustaines the architectural concept of separate opaque building volumes.