Despite competing with the Sabres game last night, El Museo Gallery busted out its newly remodeled interior design. The show was two-fold. Brad Wales (R.A., Clinical Assistant Professor SUNY, Buffalo) got to show off the incredible new interior, while displaying his small built work renderings at the same time. It was a show about progressive interactive projects and how they can benefit a community. It was a show dedicated to the ongoing revitalization of Buffalo’s West Side. The show was a collaboration of artists, students, the community and a gallery. This is great news for Allentown. Here is a gallery that has made a commitment to Allentown by investing in a gallery space, and it has made a commitment to Buffalo by continuing to hi-light forward thinking people and their projects. Below is some info on the new build. Buffalo rising will continue to cover the Small Built Works Program and all of the crazy-cool designs that will start popping up on Buffalo’s West Side!
There are six primary goals of this project: 1. to make the gallery space itself more exciting and to provide more wall space; 2. to increase the efficiency of the office; 3. to create visual access between the office and the gallery; 4. to make the Toilet Room more accessible, 5. to bring the electrical work up to Code; and, 6. to create more storage space for both chairs and artwork.
Two existing walls were removed and a mezzanine-type office has been constructed. The new structure hovers in the back, cuts into the existing Toilet Room, opening up the gallery to the full slot of tenant space. Natural light is now admitted from both the street and alley to the north. Through ventilation has been improved and there is now the possibility of using the alley as an art display and/or quirky performance space.
The raised office area now has visual access to the gallery, so office staff can monitor the space without stopping work. Even though the mezzanine floor plan is smaller than the previous office, the overall linear countertop area has nearly doubled, making tasks such as mailings and brochures much easier to produce. Storage is in the