Media contact:
Heather West, 612-724-8760, heather@heatherwestpr.com
Project photos available at http://www.clarkart.edu/About/Press-Room/Media-Access
The Clark Visitor Center creates welcoming space with
Wausau’s curtainwall enhancing light, transparency, views and
sustainability
Wausau, Wisconsin (Dec. 2015) – Part of a 15-year, $145 million expansion project, the worldrenowned Sterling and Francis Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, features an
impressive new glass, stone and concrete Visitor Center created with curtainwall systems from Wausau
Window and Wall Systems. Opened July 4, 2014, the new 42,600-square-foot visitor’s center, formally
know as the Clark Center, was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando.
Transparency plays an integral part of Ando’s design, visually integrating the museum’s new and
renovated indoor spaces with the campus’ 140-acres of outdoor woodland. He explained, “Light is the
origin of all being. Light gives, with each moment, new form to being and new interrelationships to
things, and architecture condenses light to its most concise being. The creation of space in architecture
is simply the condensation and purification of the power of light.”
The focal point of the Visitor Center’s light-filled design is a two-story glass lobby created with
Wausau’s HP-Wall thermally advanced curtainwall. The light, views and thermal performance all
contribute to the Visitor Center’s LEED® Silver design and construction criteria and support the
Institute as a leader in best practices for sustainability and energy efficiency.
Glazing contractor Suntech of Connecticut, Inc. worked closely with Wausau’s engineers to ensure the
factory-fabricated system would meet the precise specifications required for the project. “Ando’s design
included multiple complex, tight angles and sharp corners throughout the building,” said Michael
Berkun, president of Suntech. “It was imperative to the installation’s success that the curtainwall be
fabricated to exact measurements and that the pieces assemble perfectly.”
Guided by general contractor Turner Construction, Suntech installed more than 12,000 square feet of
Wausau’s HP-Wall. Suntech glazed the system in situ using Viracon double insulating low-iron glass
with a laminated inboard lite, stainless steel spacers and a spectrally-selective VE-2M low-e coating.
Wausau’s market manager Steve Gille elaborated, “This high-performance curtainwall provides
advanced thermal and acoustical performance. HP-Wall is the perfect solution for maximizing energyefficiency and occupant comfort levels, and its resistance to condensation makes it ideal for highhumidity applications, such as museums.”
“Wausau’s reputation for close tolerances and high quality control has always been one of their
strongest assets, and they certainly lived up to that reputation on this project,” noted Berkun.
Contributing to a positive, lasting impression, the Visitor Center’s curtainwall aluminum framing was
finished by Linetec using a three-coat 70 percent polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) resin-based coating in
gray. Tested to meet the stringent American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) 2605
specifications, the finish further supports the project’s LEED criteria as Linetec safely captures and
destroys the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in liquid paints at the factory before arrival on
the building site. These industry-leading practices complement other green building choices and ensure
a long-lasting, durable and sustainable finish.
True to the Visitor Center’s sustainable building goals and Ando’s architectural style, natural light is
infused throughout the design. Light from the open lobby spills down into more than 11,000 square feet
of new gallery space, some of which are located below the ground level. The lower-level galleries are
partially situated beneath a green roof that forms an exterior courtyard at the main entrance to the
facility. The lobby overlooks the reflecting pool and is highlighted by a dramatic glass and concrete
stairway that accesses the galleries, dining, and family areas located below it.
The Visitor Center’s primary retail facility is located on the building’s first floor with interiors designed
by California-based wHY Architecture and Design led by principal Kulapat Yantrasast, who also
designed Café Seven, the new dining facility. A granite and glass corridor links the Visitor Center to the
Ando-designed Museum Pavilion, a glass structure that creates a light-filled transitional space
connected to the Museum Building’s new west-facing entrance.
“I like to accomplish art spaces that inspire viewers and evoke their creativity and freedom of thinking,”
said Ando. “I have always been in awe of the Clark’s unique sense of place in nature. In both the Clark
Center and Lunder Center, I have tried to express a deep respect for the landscape outside and an equal
reverence for the art inside. It is critical that the art speak for itself and that viewers experience it in
their own way.”
In advance of the grand opening, a July 2014 article in dwell magazine described the project: “From the
unlikely pairing of the original 1955 neo-Classical building and the 1970s Brutalist Manton Research
Center to the way Ando’s Visitor Center responds to the sprawling fields above, the Clark is not a
conglomeration of disparate elements but a balanced whole.”
“The addition of special exhibition and education space in the new Clark Center, coupled with the
renovation of our Museum Building, enables us to present our collection and expand the provocative
exhibitions for which the Clark is noted in new and interesting ways,” emphasized Michael Conforti,
director of The Clark Art Institute.
“The project advances the Clark’s dual mission as both an art museum and a center for research and
higher education,” said Conforti. “Since developing our master plan nearly 15 years ago, we have
worked diligently to connect our program and support spaces with our extraordinary landscape, all with
the goal of best serving the thousands of people who come from all over the world to visit the Clark
each year. What now looks simple and so logical has been achieved through a complex and
environmentally sensitive design and construction program that unites many disparate parts.”
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The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 225 South Street, Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267
http://www.clarkart.edu
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Owner’s representative: Arcadis US; Chicago; https://www.arcadis.com
Master plan: Cooper, Robertson & Partners; New York; http://www.cooperrobertson.com
Project manager: Zubatkin Owner Representation, LLC; New York; http://zubatkin.com
Civil engineer: Guntlow & Associates; Williamstown, Massachusetts; http://www.guntlowassociates.com
Architect – Visitor Center, Lunder Center at Stone Hill, physical plant: Tadao Ando Architect & Associates;
Osaka, Japan; http://www.tadao-ando.com
Architect – Museum Building, Manton Research Center: Selldorf Architects; New York;
http://www.selldorf.com
Architect of record/Executive architect, Sustainability consultant: Gensler; New York; http://www.gensler.com
General contractor/Construction manager – Visitor Center: Turner Construction Company; Albany, New York;
http://www.turnerconstruction.com
General contractor/Construction manager – Museum Building, Manton Research Center: Consigli
Construction Co., Inc.; Williamstown, Massachusetts; http://www.consigli.com
Glazing contractor: Suntech of Connecticut, Inc.; North Brandford, Connecticut;
http://www.suntechwindowsct.com
Glazing systems – curtainwall manufacturer: Wausau Window and Wall Systems; Wausau, Wisconsin;
http://www.wausauwindow.com
Glazing systems – glass fabricator: Viracon Inc.; Owatonna, Minnesota; http://www.viracon.com
Glazing systems – finishing: Linetec; Wausau, Wisconsin; http://www.linetec.com
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/ClarkArtInstitute/videos, https://youtu.be/YmSjemeJLGc,
https://youtu.be/W2BamIidDl0, https://youtu.be/K9mnyp3Y9UA
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/clarkartinstitute, https://www.flickr.com/groups/clarkart,
https://twitter.com/the_clark
Nationally recognized for its innovative expertise, Wausau Window and Wall Systems is an industry leader in
engineering window and curtainwall systems for commercial and institutional construction applications. For
more than 55 years, Wausau has worked closely with architects, building owners and contractors to realize their
vision for aesthetic beauty, sustainability and lasting value, while striving to maintain the highest level of
customer service, communication and overall satisfaction. Wausau is a part of Apogee Enterprises, Inc., a
publicly held, U.S. corporation.
Wausau and its staff are members of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA), the American
Institute of Architects (AIA), the APPA – Leadership in Educational Facilities, the Construction Specifications
Institute (CSI), Glass Association of North America (GANA), the National Fenestration Ratings Council (NFRC)
and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
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