The former Public Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is an exceptional building of the 1930s and has been vacant for the past 20 years since the Public Museum moved into its new building nearby. An ideas competition was launched to assess possible future use for the building as a public asset. Our contribution proposes a renovation and conversion of the existing structure with respect to the historic building while expanding the building volume on the roof with a distinctly contemporary structure.
The proposed use will merge educational and maker facilities, including a children’s lab, an artist residency program in conjunction with Kohler Arts Center and the Toledo Museum, a gallery space, a open workshop space, and a digital live-stream facility.