Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS

RICHARDSON, TEXAS | 3,700 SQFT | COMPLETED IN 2016

This project is a renovation of 3,700 square feet of academic work space on the second level of the existing Arts and Technology building on the University of Texas at Dallas campus in Richardson, Texas. The finished renovated space provides a mix of offices for endowed for chairs and Ph.D candidates, administrative support areas and seminar spaces. A newly formed institute, the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History is the first such entity in the digital age. The leadership of EODIAH desired an aesthetic that reflected the sensibility and warmth of a library, with the further intension of encouraging relaxed and spontaneous interaction. The client also needed to shelve thousands of historical art catalogues that will be accessed often for research. The bookshelves are the organizing element in the main space.

Traditional materials (cork floors, walnut woodwork and furnishings, clay plaster surfaces) are detailed carefully and combined with current technologies. Many seating areas include historicist reproduction chairs from the first half of the 20th century. The space is further appointed with work from artists who graduated or teach at UTD. The centerpiece artwork is a thread work of artist Gabriel Dawe, commissioned to deal with a pair of HVAC ducts that must run vertically through the space.