Translucent Wall Turns Museum Inside Out

The Whatcom Museum of History and Art in Bellingham, Washington, is in the process of constructing a new building for their campus.  Designed by Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, the focal point of the silver level, LEED registered building will be a 36-foot-tall, 180-foot-long translucent wall, known as ‘the lightcatcher.’

Enclosing the central courtyard and cafe, the wall is intended to turn the museum inside out and make the building as active on the outside as it will be on the inside. Composed of vinyl over a polyester scrim, the massive wall will be lit up at night and will also serve as a place for shadow puppet shows and screening movies.

The overall design of the building was conceived to invite the public to engage with art within it.  Hoping to distance themselves from the notion that museums are “fortresses for art,” exterior walls will either be as translucent as possible, to allow pedestrians to look in, or blank canvasses where anyone can paint their own art.

[via designboom]