The view to the water dome, past the North entrance, is framed for occupants of the interior by the south glass façade from the first floor classroom as well as the primary reading, research and exhibit space on the second floor. The ten-foot overhangs reflect those of Wright and Schweizer, fitting appropriately into a campus covered in esplanades and shade-making architecture. Two forty-feet high, cast-in-place concrete walls delaminate the layers of the southwest façade and operate as passive cooling devices shielding the afternoon sun. The ground floor rustication for this new building was accomplished with textile block concrete panels precast by a local master mason and based on Wright’s original molds, borrowed from the College’s collections. This “textile-like” pattern on the panels connects the building’s module and material texture to the nearby Wright structures.
