OGUNQUIT, Maine — The Ogunquit Museum of American Art (OMAA) announces a strategic partnership with renowned architecture firm Kevin Daly Architects (kdA). The partnership includes a study to assess OMAA’s existing challenges and the creation of recommendations for a campus and facility plan as part of a new vision for the future of OMAA that can welcome a diverse audience and help OMAA better meet its mission. KdA is collaborating with the landscape architecture practice Reed Hilderbrand to engage the museum’s coastal landholding. The partnership is part of a long-term strategic plan.
The iconic roofline and unobstructed view of the ocean in the 1952 original building by Charles Worley Jr. offer two recognizable design features that will guide kdA’s approach. According to architect Kevin Daly, “Our sense is that the museum needs to recover some of the elemental simplicity that was inherent in the 50’s building. As the original building evolved, the relationship to the ocean and the coastal setting that was the inspiration for artists and visitors alike has been cut off. The site review will be focused on re-establishing a presence on this outcropping and imagining new encounters between visitors and the coast.” kdA has taken great inspiration from the history of artist communities in Ogunquit going back to Charles Woodbury, including the historic fishing shacks in Perkins Cove.
“Preservation is a key value for our strategic plan,” explains Executive Director Amanda Lahikainen. “We grow from our past and without it we could lose our connection to the early artist’s communities and our landscape.” Visitors can explore the museum’s history, including blueprints of the original building–an excellent example of mid-century modernism–in the museum’s current exhibition Architect of a Museum through November 17.
“We are excited to embark on this partnership in order to begin to understand how OMAA can better serve our growing community, not just in Ogunquit, but throughout the Seacoast region and beyond,” notes Lahikainen. “As we look to the future, we seek to offer the highest standards for visitor experience while addressing challenges with our aging infrastructure, ADA accessibility, collections care, and groups traveling by bus.” kdA will lead two in-person, public town hall meetings at the museum on Tuesday, November 12 at 10 a.m. and Tuesday, November 12 at 6 p.m. to hear feedback from, and better understand the needs of, the local community. We welcome all who are interested in taking part.
ABOUT KEVIN DALY ARCHITECTS (kdA)
Kevin Daly Architects is an architectural practice based in Los Angeles and New York City. With a focus on craft, construction systems, and material research, the firm’s work interweaves innovation in technology and fabrication, new approaches to sustainability and urbanism, and a commitment to livability and economy.
Since establishing the firm in 1990, Kevin Daly has guided a design process that upholds the practical magic of architecture – an alchemy of craft, materials, and form. Buttressed by project-directed research, the work of kdA pursues design excellence in the public realm, creating communities for education, the arts, and dwelling, often by giving a second life to buildings through reclamation and consideration.
The firm’s award-winning portfolio includes environmental and socially responsive educational, residential, and institutional projects ranging in scale from single-room artist workspaces to campus master planning, including the recently completed Houston Endowment building.
ABOUT REED HILDERBRAND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Reed Hilderbrand is an award-winning landscape architecture practice based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut, responsible for numerous significant landscapes associated with museums, including the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the Clark Art Institute, the Parrish Art Museum, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and MacDowell.
Reed Hildebrand’s career in Maine includes a series of current projects for Coastal Maine Botanic Garden and the acclaimed Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
ABOUT OGUNQUIT MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART (OMAA)
Opened in 1953, OMAA was founded by the artist Henry Strater. The museum shares close historic and geographic ties to one of the earliest modern arts communities in the United States. OMAA houses a permanent collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, and photographs from the late 1800s to the present. The museum showcases American art by mounting modern and contemporary exhibitions and accompanying educational programming and events. OMAA sits on approximately three acres of gardens right on the water with stunning panoramic views of Maine’s iconic coves and outcroppings. For more information, visit ogunquitmuseum.org.
