Sir David Adjaye's Ruby City art center is set to open to the public this October in San Antonio, Texas. Home to the growing Linda Pace Foundation permanent collection, the building is designed by Adjaye Associates in collaboration with Alamo Architects. Brought to life twelve years after the building was first imagined by Linda Pace, the 14,000 square-foot art center is dedicated to providing a space for the city’s creative community works with works by both local and international artists.
Inspired by the Spanish Missions found throughout the Southwest, Ruby City's exterior skin consists of a precast concrete fabricated in Mexico City, which has been imbued with a red coloring. Two lanterns adorn the top of the structure, creating an animated roofline made to draw in natural light to the galleries. Conceived as an ambulatory loop, the building will house major works by world-renowned artists including Isaac Julien, Jennifer Steinkamp, Kiki Smith, Do Ho Suh and Wangechi Mutu, among many others. The extensive gallery space, spanning over 10,000 square-feet, introduces visitors to a selection of the over 900 artworks maintained by the Linda Pace Foundation.
"My goal was to translate Linda's idea into a building that will do justice to her legacy. It is a tremendous responsibility and one that is dear to my heart," Sir David Adjaye OBE said. "Linda had a clear vision for how the institution should be an inspirational space for the community and interact with its surroundings, drawing visitors into the jewel-like structure while connecting to the San Antonio landscape. The building creates a narrative journey through the space that allows the collection to be accessed in an organic and meaningful way." Ruby City will be Adjaye's first project in Texas.
Adjacent to the museum, an accompanying sculpture garden will feature a lawn area bounded by red cast-in-place concrete with a rock salt finish. The sculpture garden will include a work by Nancy Rubins. The new building is part of a growing campus, which also includes Chris Park, a one-acre public green space named in memoriam to Pace’s son, as well as Studio, an auxiliary exhibition space which presents curated shows and programming throughout the year.
Ruby City is free and open to the public year round.
