THE WESTMORELAND MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART

LOCATION Greensburg, Pennsylvania

PROJECT TYPE Museum Expansion

CLIENT The Westmoreland Museum of American Art

TOTAL AREA 2 Acres

PROJECT BUDGET $14.4 Million

AWARD LEED Gold Certification

LBA facilitated collaborative work sessions, engaging stakeholder groups, business and civic leaders, foundations, residents, and allied institutions to create a vision and design elements for expanding the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, PA. LBA then used the ideas to create the plan and layout of the museum's expansion.

The museum’s building expansion idea creates a new exterior landscape that replicates and fosters the intimacy of American Art within the museum without changing the characters of the existing building. Additionally, a new dynamic image and main street view that attracts people to the area have been created along with a public space for gathering and amenities.

This design included a striking, cantilevered gallery space that offers views of the town center. At the building entrance, LBA utilized a native plant palette, accent lighting, and an elegant pedestrian pathway sequence. The design achieves strong desire lines that create a dynamic, transitional space for museum-goers and define the museum front as a destination for congregating and relaxing. Site improvements include a grand entry staircase and an alternate set of concrete steps set into the lawn. An understated yet sophisticated walkway configuration of an elongated switchback path and intersecting secondary pathways traverse the site. A terraced event lawn with amphitheater-style seating of low profile concrete walls and steps extends under the coverage of the building’s cantilevered structure.