Award-Winning, Ultra-Modern Architecture at the University of Alaska Museum of the North

Inspired by ice with a real fire behind its futuristic design, the ultra-modern addition to Fairbanks’ University of Alaska Museum of the North has doubled its size, to 78,000 sq. ft., and more than doubled its attention among architectural circles world-wide. Designed by architect Joan Soranno and the team at Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. (HGA) Architects and Engineers, the contemporary design borrows the lines, ridges and angles of glaciers, incorporating a real sense of its surroundings into the structure. The building’s facade is clad in metallic aluminum composite panels, which reflect the changing colors throughout the days and seasons. Inside, local stone and wood offer the space a feeling of familiarity and refinement. The new lobby is the sculptural centerpiece of the futuristic design – a bright two-storey space that casts a warm glow that’s visible from afar in the cold night air. The second floor features the extensive Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery, connected by a sweeping staircase and a bridge that overlooks the lobby below. The project is the winner of the Chicago Athenaeum 2008 American Architecture Award. HGA
via World Architecture News
Photos: Patricia Fisher Photography