CLAREMONT, CA.- Designed by wHY, the interdisciplinary firm of award-winning architect Kulapat Yantrasast, the open and porous nature of the building exposes different disciplines during the art-making process, creating a cool, transparent and collaborative atmosphere to explore new ideas, materials and artistic production.

Based on a village model, the new home of the Pomona College Art Department maximizes the intersection between students, faculty and staff as they move through the studios and public areas. The seeds for new ways of thinking are planted through the serendipitous encounter, the unplanned studio visit and the informal visibility of the workspaces and studios.

wHY’s use of glass provides students with insights into the creative processes of their peers and faculty members in multiple disciplines. The non-hierarchical gathering of mediums fuels an openness and unrestricted approach to art. In a nod to its inspiring placement on campus and within Southern California, floor-to-ceiling windows in many studios frame the expansive San Gabriel Mountains, rolling native landscape and an historic oak grove. The arching steel and wood roof echoes the rise and fall of the nearby mountain range and draws parallels to the historic bow-string trussed warehouses, that are home to Los Angeles’ thriving art scene.

“Cross-pollination of ideas cannot occur in walled-off art studios,” said Kulapat Yantrasast. “The Studio Art Hall’s concept and design reflects Pomona College’s ethos of nurturing innovation and culturally-minded graduates who either stay in the arts or venture into science, humanities or business. This building really could not exist anywhere else.”

Built to the LEED Gold standards of the U.S. Green Building Council, the $29 million Studio Art Hall forges new connections to disciplines beyond the arts. The building’s semi-public ‘Grey Spaces’ encourage an informal exchange of ideas. Major program elements are arranged around a central courtyard that accentuates a prominent north-south path through campus. Studios not only provide views to the surrounding landscape, but also have the capacity to expand the working environment into the natural elements and pedestrian spaces.

A formal dedication ceremony will be held on Saturday, Oct. 11. Among the art performed and displayed will be Michael Parker’s mirrored Steam Egg and furniture created by Pomona College students. Among those attending the ceremony will be architect Kulapat Yantrasast; Pomona College President David W. Oxtoby; and Mark Allen, Chair of the Art Department and founder of the Machine Project in Los Angeles; among other college dignitaries.