The new Markel Center at Virginia Commonwealth University's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in Richmond anchors its busy corner site at the edge of campus like an urban-scaled sculpture, its cool, pre-weathered titanium zinc and etched glass acting in concert to form a building that, in certain light, appears monolithic. Designed by Steven Holl Architects (SHA), the ICA is a calming antidote to the rough and tumble intersection on which it sits, where trucks rumble by and car radios blare out of sunroofs. With its intriguing, torqued geometry and camouflaged porosity, it is a gateway that metaphorically links art to the larger world and literally connects the surrounding neighborhood to the university.
Richmond is better known as the historic capital of the Confederacy than for its more recent role as the center of a vibrant arts scene—including as the home of VCU’s top ranked School of the Arts. But, says Joseph Seipel, interim director of the institute and dean emeritus of the arts school, "There was one thing that was missing—neither the school nor the city had a contemporary art institution. It was the last building block the university needed to stand out as a creative campus."
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