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Architects: Selser Schaefer Architects
- Area: 43000 m²
- Year: 2012
- Photographs: Ralph Cole Photography
Text description provided by the architects. For years, the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa worked tirelessly to bring the concept of an arts exhibition and education facility to downtown Tulsa. Its primary goal was and still is to engage the community in the arts. By working together with Selser Schaefer Architects, the Hardesty Arts Center was brought to life in downtown Tulsa’s vibrant and growing Brady Arts District.
Taking cues from the urban fabric of the area’s rich history, the building’s design is deeply rooted in the Brady Arts District in both its materiality and planning. The Hardesty Arts Center employs the honest use of materials. Weathering steel, extensive glazing, exposed structural steel and concrete are in keeping with the industrial aesthetic that defines the district.
The design evokes AHCT’s goal of engaging the community. The ground floor of the facility both literally and figuratively opens to the community through a series of operable glazed panels allowing pedestrians to flow into the facility from the street — becoming immersed in the activities within the exhibit spaces.
The educational components of the center’s programs are veiled with a perforated weathering steel panel. The treatment of this element was designed so that the pedestrian would have a glimpse of activities within, thus being intrigued and drawn in to participate.
The Hardesty Arts Center incorporates many modern sustainable design elements while respecting the Brady District’s historic industrial aesthetic.
The entire building was designed to support the creative process that is the studio. From drawing to painting, print making to photography, sculpture to digital art, these studios are the heart and soul of AHHA.
Selser Schaefer Architects and the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa engaged local artists in the creation of these spaces, their love for their craft and collaboration in the process guided the design of these elements and truly made the creative process of the studio the central focus of this facility. What a wonderful thing – a building created by artists for the dispersion of their craft all focused around the creative process.
