Corvallis Museum Virtual Tour

The Corvallis Museum (photos by Jeremy Bitterman unless noted otherwise; all images here are screenshots from the webinar presentation)

A project I’ve been tracking for many years—literally decades—is now complete.(1) The gleaming new Corvallis Museum, designed by Allied Works Architecture and constructed by Gerding Bulders for the Benton County Historical Society (BCHS), proves to have been well worth the wait. 

Located at 411 SW 2^nd Street in downtown Corvallis, the museum adds a considerable cultural amenity and draw to Benton County’s principal urban center. It significantly complements the BCHS’s other extensive assets, which are primarily located in nearby Philomath and include the historic Philomath Museum and the Peter & Rosalie Johnson Collections Center (the repository of the massive and wildly eclectic Horner Collection). 

SW Adams Avenue elevation. The Museum Store animates the storefront along the sidewalk.

With the Corvallis Museum, the BCHS can now exhibit larger portions of its diverse cultural and natural history collections, connect with a broader audience, and bring new life to the downtown streetscape. In addition to 5,000 square feet of exhibition galleries, the facility houses the BCHS offices, exhibition preparation spaces, and an education room with the capacity to hold 100 people. Additionally, the museum features a museum store, a spacious lobby, a board room, a docent room, and the landscaped Starker Courtyard. The enclosed building area totals 19,000 square feet across two floors. Gerding Builders delivered the completed project for a direct construction price of $8.357 million, or $440 per square foot (a modest figure given the building type). The total project cost was $15 million. 

I haven’t visited the museum since its recent opening to the public; however, I have done the next best thing, which was to participate last Thursday in a virtual tour of the facility. That tour, presented by the Energy Trust of Oregon, was accompanied by a panel presentation. The multifaceted event was part of the Energy Trust’s ongoing series of Allies for Efficiency programs on high-performance buildings. 

Kriya Kaping of the Energy Trust hosted the webinar and served as moderator for the panel discussion. The panelists were: 

• Jessica Hougen, executive director, Benton County Historical Society
• Irene Zenev, former executive director, Benton County Historical Society
• Michael Schweizer, NCARB, AIA, Senior Project Manager, CH2M HILL (retired)
• Chelsea Grassinger, principal, Allied Works
• Katy Anderson, senior energy analyst, Glumac
• Elin Shepard, outreach manager, Energy Trust of Oregon

Jessica Hougen and Irene Zenev introduced the project and recounted its genesis and protracted gestation. BCHS inherited the Horner Collection from Oregon State University in 1998, later constructing the Johnson Collections Center in 2007 to accommodate its 120,000 artifacts. Wishing to additionally provide a suitable venue to display rotating selections from the permanent collection (as well as traveling exhibits), BCHS elected to build an entirely new, state-of-the-art museum in downtown Corvallis. The design process began in 2010, while the capital campaign would reach its fundraising goal in 2019. 

In many respects, the new museum is Irene’s baby. As I wrote in 2010, Irene “gets” architecture and recognized the fact the new museum would be a civic asset in the heart of Benton County. She understood that outstanding architecture would deliver added value to the display of the collections. During the architect selection process, she studied contemporary museum projects, visiting and being particularly impressed with the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York City. She would be surprised to learn that MAD was designed by an Oregon native—Brad Cloepfil—and his Portland-based firm. Due in no small part to Irene’s advocacy, BCHS swung for the fences and chose Allied Works, ensuring an architectural landmark for downtown Corvallis. 

In addition to leading the virtual tour, Michael Schweizer described the qualifications-based contractor selection process and presented a slideshow featuring construction progress photos. BCHS sent the contractor selection RFP to three “known” firms, ultimately selecting locally based Gerding Construction, who in turn identified numerous subcontractors and suppliers who were likewise from the immediate area. 

I most looked forward to hearing from Allied Works principal Chelsea Grassinger. While she asserts Allied Works does not rely upon a trademarked style, the Corvallis Museum displays the hallmarks of the firm’s other work: a contemporary expression that respectfully complements each site through massing, detailing, and materiality. The latter aspect typically figures prominently in every Allied Works project, and the new building is no exception. The luminous, hand-raked Japanese tile cladding constantly shifts in appearance as the quality of light about the building changes, adding considerable life and visual interest to the museum’s exterior. 

Closeup view of the tile cladding (still image from virtual tour).

Chelsea described how the building’s four parallel structural bays echo the scale and meter of the neighboring storefronts, and how its projecting bays and windows fold out over the sidewalk, providing glimpses into the galleries visible from the principal cross streets. She cited the grand stair that leads visitors to the series of interconnected galleries on the second level and touched on the clerestories that bisect the galleries to deliver controlled daylight better accommodating the varied nature of the collection. 

Bruce the Moose greets visitors in the Museum's lobby

View looking back to the Museum lobby and up to one of the galleries on the upper floor from intermediate landing of the main stair.

Upper level gallery with opening to lobby below.

Gallery. Note the controlled use of natural daylight.

Because this was an Energy Trust of Oregon program, a natural part of the discussion centered around its energy performance. Katy Anderson and Elin Shepard described the museum’s use of a high-efficiency variable refrigerant flow (VRF)/dedicated outdoor air mechanical system (DOAS). Coupled with the galleries use of glare-free, controlled daylight balanced with LED lighting to illuminate the displays, the various energy-saving measures resulted in one of the most energy-efficient museums in Oregon, with estimated annual savings of 58,000 kWh. The design team targeted an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 30.9, which translates to a projected 24.4% savings compared to a code baseline building. This level of performance is impressive given the need to protect the displayed artifacts by precisely maintaining temperature and humidity within a tight range. 

View from intersection of SW Adams Avenue and SW 2nd Street

It was a pleasure to see the obvious pride and satisfaction expressed by each of the speakers. The project is the fulfilment of a long-held vision shared by the Benton County Historical Society’s board of trustees, its staff, and its patrons and supporters. The new building is a testament to that vision and the efforts and contributions of all involved in its realization. Through a range of curatorial strategies, the Corvallis Museum is bringing new educational, social, and cultural opportunities to the community. It is a celebration of collective heritage, an ideal vehicle for learning more about the history of Benton County. I’m looking forward to following up the virtual tour with an in-person visit sometime soon. 

*    *    *    *    *    *

The Corvallis Museum is open each week Wednesday through Sunday, 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM. Admission is $5 for non-members, and free to BCHS members, children 18 and under, and Oregon State University and Linn-Benton Community College students (with valid ID).

(1)  I’ve written about the Corvallis Museum on two previous occasions. The first entry (SW Oregon Architect: A Museum for Corvallis) dates from 2010, after BCHS selected Allied Works, and includes some initial concept images. I wrote the second post (SW Oregon Architect: The Corvallis Museum) in 2018, following an in-person tour of the project during construction.