Project:   American Saddlebred Museum

Location:   Lexington, Kentucky

Located on the grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, the American Saddlebred Museum had reached a point were its current facilities could not accommodate its expanding needs. At the heart of the expansion was the desire to create a dedicated gallery to display the Museum's collection of equine art.

The design of the addition presented a number of unique challenges. These included locating the addition on a tight site, avoiding a low-lying area of the property which was subject to flooding, organizing the facility to allow visitors from both inside and outside the Horse Park to access the facility, and planning the addition to minimize the disruption to the ongoing operation and public access to the existing Museum.

CMW's solution addressed these concerns by designing the new Gallery addition with a new and more prominent public entrance to a raised second (Museum) level addition. Visitors can access the existing Museum and the new Gallery from this centrally located entry point.   CMW worked with Callan McMahon (exhibit & museum designers) to configure the Gallery for maximum flexibility, including use as a seminar and conference space.

The exterior of the addition is a combination of prefinished metal wall panels and stone veneer in a color and material palette to tie into the existing general appearance of the existing Museum. Windows are used sparingly to ensure protection of the artwork from the deteriorating effects of ultraviolet radiation from daylight.

This project is expected to be completed in time for the 2010 World Equestrian Games which are being held at the Kentucky Horse Park.