Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Wesleyan Breaks Ground on New Art Gallery

  • By Matt Jones
  • 08/05/21

On the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., officials broke ground this week on a new art gallery. The Davison Art Gallery will be the campus’ first new art building since the mid-1970s. The university is partnering with design firm Peterson Rich Office (PRO) and Newman Architects on the project, which is projected for completion in summer 2023 and to open its doors to students for the spring 2024 semester.

The university found itself outgrowing its existing art gallery, the Davison Art Center, which houses a collection of more than 25,000 works of art. The collection was already relocated to the Olin Memorial Library in 2019. The new facility will measure in at 5,550 square feet and was designed as a long, narrow space to fit between the library and the Public Affairs Center.

“The new gallery presents an opportunity to expand the visual arts from the iconic Kevin Roche-designed Center for the Arts to the very heart of the campus,” said PRO founders Nathan Rich and Miriam Peterson. “The building is deliberately designed for interdisciplinary learning and to expose a range of students to this renowned collection.”

The facility will feature an open, glass-walled lobby space and an exterior of red brick and limestone to blend into the surrounding area. An outdoor teaching courtyard and exterior gathering space will serve as active learning environments for a variety of courses. Sustainability initiatives include a green roof, solar panels, in-flooring heating and cooling, motion-sensor lighting, displacement ventilation and a landscape of native plants. The gallery represents PRO’s first full, ground-up project in the education vertical.

The Davison Art Gallery is being constructed simultaneously with renovations to the adjacent Public Affairs Center (PAC). The gallery will be accessible through the PAC as well as via walkways in front of and behind the library.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Armstrong World Industries Acquires Parallel Architectural Products

    Armstrong World Industries, provider of interior and exterior architectural applications, recently announced that it has acquired the Colorado-based Parallel Architectural Products, according to a news release.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.

  • Vanderbilt to Partner with ABM for Campus Preservation and Modernization

    Vanderbilt University recently announced that it has selected ABM Performance Solutions for a preservation and modernization project at its New York City campus, according to a news release. ABM will deliver its end-to-end ABM Performance Solutions (APS) model to manage critical operations during renovation and maintenance.

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.