Respecting a historic structure, but with an eye on the future

Cleveland Institute of Art - The George Gund Building

The Cleveland Institute of Art wanted an iconic design as a counterpoint to their historic, Albert Kahn-designed McCullough building—which began its life in 1913 as an assembly plant for Model T Fords. In 1976, the college acquired the McCullough building and operated a campus of two separate facilities, a half mile apart from each other.

To unify their campus in one centralized location and enhance student collaboration (while significantly reducing operational costs), the Cleveland Institute of Art brought us in to design an 80,000-square-foot addition. However, the design had to be developed within the regulation confines of both the Ohio Historic Tax Credits and Federal Lost Development Tax Credits systems.

The entire facility houses 250,000 square feet of teaching studios, classrooms, galleries, auditorium space, and administrative/faculty offices. It integrates the latest in lab and computer technology to support the institute’s creative edge, and it houses public gallery spaces for visiting collections and student art as well as The Cinematheque, a theatre for screening of classic and art films. 

With this addition, students at the Cleveland Institute of Art have everything they need on one location—and it’s the one with all the history.