Bechtler Interior

A key design element of the four-story structure is the soaring glass atrium that extends through the museum’s core and diffuses natural light throughout the building. This open atrium allows for dynamic visual interplay between spaces. Other notable features include a vaulted skylight system and an enveloping terra cotta exterior. The building’s dominant feature is the fourth-floor gallery which makes a bold and dramatic statement as it floats out from the core of the building, cantilevered and supported by a swelling column rising from the plaza below. Inside, a rigorous but elegant palette of materials are presented, including steel, glass, terra cotta, black granite, polished concrete, and wood.