Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
Levine Center for the Arts
Charlotte, NC 
Cultural and Community > Museum
General Contracting, Preconstruction
Located in the new Cultural Arts District of downtown Charlotte, The Bechtler Museum will house the Andreas Bechtler family’s private collection of modern art - including several important artists, such as Tinguely, Niki de Saint Phalle, Picasso, Giacometti, Matisse, Mirò, Degas, Warhol, Le Corbusier and Leger. Swiss architect Mario Botta, who also designed the San Francisco Museum of Art, is the project designer, who is working in collaboration with local architect of record Wagner Murray Architects.
The building’s trademark is a strong plastic image representing a focal point for public events taking place in the back, in the Knight Theater, and in the new Mint Museum directly adjacent (all built by Rodgers). The museum is configured as a cube excavated on the inside. The outside public space is created by the plastic volumes in the back. The exterior surfaces of the building static structure are steel sections, covered by terra cotta tiles on all the free fronts. This Italian terra cotta, is tactile andmonochromatic, giving the building the appearance that it was sharply carved from a single large block of clay.
The 35,000 square foot building has four levels, dividing the inside space organization. On the first floor there are the entry hall, the bookshop and an exhibition area. The second floor will house an exhibition area and two classrooms; on the thirdfloor there will be an exhibition area and the offices, and on the fourth floor, the large exhibition areas are vertically illuminated by the skylight natural light.
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