Page 36 - Fall 2019

The Glenstone Museum Administrative Offices. Photo © Ron Blunt Architectural Photography
Chapter Design Award in Interior Architecture Glenstone’s mission is to support the contemplation of art, which
it does by strictly limiting the quantity of visitors, sprinkling artworks
Glenstone Museum sparingly around luminous but very neutral gallery spaces, and
Administrative Offices isolating visitors from the day-to-day of modern life. For the
administrative offices, Stantec worked to provide an environment
Potomac, MD as ennobled as the museum galleries—if a bit more crowded
with people, and with a stronger connection to the world
Stantec Architecture outside of Glenstone.
An open office area lines the floor-to-ceiling glass wall facing a
Museum Architects: Thomas Phifer and Partners courtyard (itself a minimalist field of beige stones). The workstations,
MEP Engineers: ASW / Altieri Sebor Wieber LLC naturally, follow the precise module of the glazing, with fairly tall
Project Managers: Mark G. Anderson Consultants wood-veneer knee walls hiding the clutter of computers, files, and
General Contractor: HITT Contracting
Post-it Notes. Inboard of the open office is another glass wall, this
time with wood mullions and door frames, which separates private
The newest complex of buildings at Glenstone, a private art
offices, a library, and a lounge for the museum’s docents. Recessed
museum in Potomac, Maryland, was designed by Thomas Phifer
downlights were cast into the concrete ceilings, making them even
and Partners and opened to great acclaim in 2018. In designing the
more minimal than they typically are. All elements are very simple,
interiors for the museum’s administrative offices, Stantec
demanding of a high level of craftmanship and design coordination,
Architecture conceived the space as a seamless continuation of
and this strategy appears to be very successful at allowing the
the museum’s “rational aesthetic approach.” The firm used only
occasional artwork to be a central focal point.
materials that were already in the museum’s palette—wood, glass,
stainless steel, and concrete—and maintained the very spare,
minimalist aesthetic.
34 INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENTS