Commercial Art Gallery & Workspace in Anchorage, Alaska

For this project, I was tasked with creating a floor plan and basic elevations for a new art gallery and workspace in Anchorage, Alaska. Parameters and requirements of the design included: approximately 3,000 square feet of building space, two distinct sections of space (public front-of-house & private back-of-house), room requirements & estimated size of each, two exits, and a single bathroom accessible for both front-of-house and back-of-house.

When doing some initial research for my design, I found that the Big Dipper and the North Star are symbols of Alaska's state flag. As stated in the flag's legal description the North Star, Polaris, is "the ever-constant star for the mariner, the explorer, hunter, trapper, prospector, woodsman, and the surveyor" and as I would like to think, the artist as well. The bowl of the Dipper functions wonderfully as the public-facing front-of-house with an arterial-type circulation path between Galleries A, B, and C. The shaft of the Dipper provides a connected, though private back-of-house space. The linear circulation path is open on one side with floor-to-ceiling windows which oversee an intended garden and public sitting area. The constellation representation is reiterated in the exterior design of the building by raised sections of the roofing where the individual stars would sit within the constellation.