Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
75 Circle
Edwardsville, Ill.
618-650-3073
Metalsmithing, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking… The courses in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Department of Art & Design run the gamut—and have only grown over the years. In fact, the program has expanded so much, the department outgrew its old space.
Enter St. Louis–based architecture firm Trivers Associates, which was tasked with overhauling the original building and designing a $9 million companion building. The firm’s goal: Create a 29,000-square-foot expansion that met the program’s needs, while being as beautiful and creative as the work inside.
Consider, for instance, the department’s art gallery and studios. There are now studios on both the north and south sides of the LEED Gold–certified building. And for the gallery, project lead Andy Trivers and project architect Joel Fouss worked closely with an art professor to find the ideal tinted glass and put in huge windows on the building’s north side. Now, students walking along the curved path running alongside the building can peer inside at the expanded art gallery. “It’s all culminating to the gallery,” says Fouss. “It’s a celebration of everything they’ve done here.”
