The primary design intent was to create a powerful image statement oriented toward Elmwood Avenue and Rockwell Road, and to provide a combination of new exhibition, office and service space for the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. The building is divided into front of the house activities and service/support functions, clearly defining the public and private realms. The building is clad in zinc, limestone and granite.

The two-story building is a highly functional organization of related program components, serviced by an efficient MEP strategy and a straightforward circulation system. Gallery space is provided for permanent collections as well as flexible changing exhibits. An auditorium, classrooms, museum store and cafe are located off the entry lobby on the first floor. The public reception room and boardroom are on the second floor, bordering an exterior roof terrace. Museum offices are on the second floor near vertical circulation. Storage and service spaces are distributed on the first and second floors, providing critical adjacencies but separating these functions from the public domain.

In summary, the new BPAC combines image, efficiency and flexibility into a composite assemblage that responds to internal factors as well as external pressures. The building design is based on logical planning principles and creative massing strategies, resulting in a unique synthesis of form. The selected materiality is intended to respond directly to the adjacent Albright Knox Museum and Rockwell Hall as contextual precedents, while creating a building that is articulated and modulated by its multiple forms, fenestration and detail.
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