Spokane Falls Community College in Spokane, Wash., is building a $42.2 million fine and applied arts facility
The Spokane Spokesman-Review reports that the 60,000-square-foot fine and applied arts facility will have classrooms, labs, offices, exhibition space, studios, dark rooms and specialty storage areas, as well as an art gallery and photo gallery in the lobby.
The new facility will replace two aging buildings, neither of which was designed for photography or fine arts. The space that now houses the photography program was built more than 90 years ago by the U.S. Army as the dispensary for Fort George Wright.
The existing Fine Arts Building was originally used as a music facility in 1965.
Among the problems plaguing the fine arts and photography buildings were roof leaks, a lack of fire suppression, restroom size, plumbing issues, accessibility deficiencies and failure-prone power systems.
The college has made three separate attempts, dating back to 2009, to secure state funding for construction of a combined fine and applied arts building. State legislators this year approved the final $19.3 million needed for the project.
The existing photography building will be torn down to make way for the new structure.
“The arts have been a big emphasis for a long time at the college,” said Bonnie Glantz, dean of visual and performing arts. “We anticipate with this new building, which is just going to be gorgeous – out there on the rim of the college campus, looking out across the space where the river flows – that’ll be just a jewel of the college and draw more people from the community out to events that we hold on our campus.”
The architects are ALSC Architects HGA.
