O’Donnell Digital Library

Using simple geometric forms, light and reflections, Buchanan Architecture create for this digital art library in Texas a neutral environment for looking at artworks.

Buchanan Architecture, Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History Digital Library, Dallas, Texas

The Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History Digital Library is a 185 square metre space located within the existing Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) in Dallas, Texas.

It occupies a space at the DMA that previously housed the Visual Resource Library. Programmatically, the facility has four private offices for visiting scholars; four smaller, semiprivate study carrels for Ph.D. students; a receptionist area, a comfortable lounge area, and two conference/teaching spaces. Each space has direct access to a vast digital library network created for scholarly research in art history and curatorial sciences. The new facility opens directly to the Mayer Library at the DMA and is designed as a meeting and research facility for the entire community of art historians in North Texas.

Buchanan Architecture conceived a geometrically rigorous space with an illuminated, central cube formed by a reflective ceiling to create the illusion of an expansive space.

The idea is to create an alert and energetic space by using simple geometric forms supported by light and reflection.

Emphasis on craftsmanship is intended to respect the museum environment by providing a refined space for learning and interacting with fellow colleagues. The materials palette is deliberately narrow and monochromatic in order to create a neutral environment for looking at art.