18 Feb Telluride Arts: “Forever Telluride,” Plans For Revitalized Transfer Warehouse Are In!
Olson Kundig is pleased to share the first design renderings for the revitalized Telluride Arts Transfer Warehouse.
Purchase a Transfer Warehouse Stone.
Rendering by Olson Kundig.
The Telluride Transfer Warehouse was originally built in 1906. Following a roof collapse in 1979, the venue stood empty for nearly 40 years before being adopted by Telluride Arts as a unique new center for arts and culture. The restoration will insert new architectural elements into the existing stone walls of the historic structure, creating an enclosed events space and increasing programming flexibility.
Led by principal/owner Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA, the design concept centers a quiet architectural solution that respects the existing warehouse walls and celebrates the character of the surrounding community. The project adds new interior structure, preserving the open-air courtyard while introducing enclosed, flexible event spaces, as well as a roof deck with views to Telluride and the surrounding landscape.
“Our approach embraces the historic character, spirit of openness and community focus of the existing building,” Kundig shares. “We want to respect and celebrate the elements of the warehouse people love, including the generous open space that has become a very special venue for the community of Telluride. The main agenda of the design is to be as flexible as possible, allowing Telluride Arts to choreograph just about any kind of event on behalf of the active, vibrant arts culture that exists here.”
Movable, kinetic elements will allow the venue to adapt to host a wide range of events and exhibits, expanding access to arts programming in Telluride. These insertions further improve facility operations while reducing the impact of outdoor events on the adjacent residential neighborhood.
“We want to create a completely flexible building that can be adaptable for all sorts of different artistic disciplines, from music, to film, to art installations, to art exhibitions,” says Kate Jones, Executive Director of Telluride Arts.“We want it to be a place for creativity to flourish in this very adaptable space.”
Kundig recently joined Telluride Arts for the Warehouse Pole Party, an event designed to celebrate the new space and share current plans with the local community. “Story poles” were erected around the project site to give dimension to the location and volume of the proposed interior spaces, illustrating the design concept.
“The Transfer Warehouse is part of the essential eternal core of Telluride culture, literally and figuratively,” says Penelope Place Gleason, Board Chair of Telluride Arts. “The Ah Haa School, the Wilkinson library, and the Transfer Warehouse together anchor our community with central facilities for creative exchange of ideas and dialogue. As more of our small box canyon community is built out and many locals are having to move farther away, it is important for us to know this historic building will be a shared community asset forever.”
About Olson Kundig:
Now in its sixth decade of practice, Olson Kundig is a collaborative design practice whose work includes cultural and museum projects, exhibition design, commercial and mixed-use design (including wineries and sports facilities), private and multi-family residential, hospitality projects, places of worship, interior design, product design and landscape design. With deep roots in the Pacific Northwest, the firm and its staff of over 200 work with clients around the world.
More information at olsonkundig.com.
About Telluride Arts
Telluride Arts is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization established on November 17, 1971 as the Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities. The organization was the first non-profit in the region, and served to incubate the culture of the arts that has come to define Telluride. Over the years, the mission of Telluride Arts has remained unchanged, and its holistic ethos steadfast. Its unique focus is to elevate and promote a culture of the arts in the Telluride Arts District, comprised of numerous institutions, activities and events that engage extraordinary artists from around the region and the globe.
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