TLBA collaborated with Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) on the design and fit-out of 40,000 SF of accessible object storage and study at the Collections Studies Center on West Campus. The project was designed and constructed in two phases to facilitate transfer of art objects from the existing storage facilities.
Phase I was comprised of 6,500 SF of pallet storage space for large objects. Phase II included 33,500 SF of research and instruction space, and accessible object storage in a variety of casework styles including high density mobile cases, all-glass display cases, and climate controlled cases. Break-out study and curatorial work spaces are located along one side of a 300 foot “interior street”, which is designed for display and study of flat artworks and textiles, while a series of discrete classrooms and object study rooms line the opposite side, at the perimeter of the expansive collections space.
Leading a dedicated group of YUAG’s curators and facilities personnel, security consultants, an independent casework designer and Yale Planners, TLBA and the project team successfully liberated over 50,000 objects from scattered sites, not readily accessible to scholars and virtually inaccessible to the public, and relocated them to centralized, state-of-the art facilities that encourage viewing, research and instruction of a large portion of Yale’s collection.