Location Galesburg, IL
Client Knox College
Architect Lake|Flato Architects
Design Team Andrew Herdeg, FAIA; Lewis McNeel, AIA; Daniel Mowery, AIA; Heather Holdridge, Assoc. AIA; Kaitlyn Labrecque
Contractor PJ Hoerr
Civil Engineer & Architectural Consultant Klingner & Associates
MEP Engineer Affiliated Engineers
Structural Engineer Lynch, Harrison & Brumleve
Lighting Designer Pivotal (AEI)
Landscape Architect Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects
The Whitcomb Art Center creates a new home for Knox College’s arts programs by consolidating the studio art and art history departments in a daylit and cost-effective building anchored by a native landscaped courtyard. The architects combined a pre-engineered metal structure with materials reused from the existing campus fabric to form details. Inside, a series of double-height studios, galleries, and critique spaces foster a vibrant interdisciplinary art community. Open stairs, informal seating areas, and public pin-up spaces encourage the exchange of ideas between students and professors. Large expanses of glass facilitate views and connections to the outdoor courtyard and surrounding landscape.