As the third oldest museum in the state, the Asheville Art Museum desired a new facility to help establish the City as a significant arts community.  The museum envisioned their expansion as an opportunity to connect to Asheville’s historic Pack Square and to share their permanent collection with residents and visitors to their community.

The re-imagined complex is organized into two wings - a monumental new East Wing housing the museum’s permanent collection and the the historic North Wing, originally the 1926 Pack Memorial Library which now houses the museum’s program spaces.

The East Wing reflects the museum’s mission as an institution that shelters significant works of art while inviting the community in to view and appreciate its contents.  A structural glass entry facade maximizes the transparency and daylight within the space, and a perforated, back-lit metal panel scrim protects the artwork from direct sunlight.  Its glow invites public participation even when the museum is closed.  The historic North Wing was carefully renovated and reconfigured to improve way-finding, security and efficiency, transforming the previous disparate arrangement of spaces into a cohesive and welcoming museum experience.  

The new facility increases the collection gallery space by 70% and doubles changing exhibit space, education program spaces, and collections storage.  Critical infrastructure upgrades include museum-quality lighting, HVAC, and technology systems.

In partnership with local Asheville architect ARCA Design, Clearscapes served as design architect from Schematic Design through Design Development and provided full Construction Documents for the renovated North Wing.