HARN BREAKS GROUND ON ASIAN ART WING APRIL 9, 2009
Marking the beginning of a new era of growth at the Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida President Bernie Machen, Dr. and Mrs. David A. Cofrin and other guests, celebrated the groundbreaking for the David A. Cofrin Asian Art Wing April 9, 2009. The ceremony featured remarks by President Bernie Machen and Rebecca Nagy, Harn Museum director.
“The Harn is an essential component not just of our cultural offerings, but our scholarship, our status as a research university and our intellectual soul,” said Machen.
Planned for the northwest side of the museum, the 26,000-square-foot addition will have three levels featuring 6,000 square feet of Asian art gallery space, an upper level for curatorial and museum activities, and art storage and conservation space for the Asian collections. An Asian garden will be accessible from the west side of the new wing. The anticipated date of completion for the project is 2011.
Kha Le-Huu & Partners of Orlando, Fla., has been selected as the project architect firm. The firm is headed by UF alumnus Kha Le-Huu, who also served as architect for the Harn’s Mary Ann Harn Cofrin Pavilion, which opened in 2005, and the original Harn building, which opened in 1990. The new addition will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Achieving the LEED certification is a particular challenge for art museums given the exacting climate standards for art preservation and volume of visitorship that they receive.
On February 6, 2008, Dr. and Mrs. David A. Cofrin made the commitment of $10 million to the University of Florida to fund the addition of a wing dedicated to Asian art at the Harn Museum of Art.
The Asian collection includes nearly 1,300 works of art and has expanded in number and strengthened in quality during the last several years. The greatest strength of the collection is Chinese art, including ceramics, jades, bronzes, sculpture, lacquer, glass and literati paintings. The collection also features important works of art from Japan, Korea, Tibet, and South and Southeast Asia.
The commitment to fund the Asian art wing is one of many transformative gifts the Cofrin family has made to the University of Florida and the Harn Museum of Art in particular.
The Cofrin’s gift is part of the University of Florida’s comprehensive Florida Tomorrow capital campaign.
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Asian art wing rendering courtesy Kha Le-Huu & Partners. View from SW 34th Street and Hull Road
University of Florida President J. Bernard Machen discusses what it means to embark on the construction of the Asian art wing.
"Like so many other institutions in this country, our university faces huge financial hardships. Some may fear that we will falter, but I think what’s happening today suggests otherwise. Rather than crumble, we will build."
"This groundbreaking begins an important addition to the Harn Museum. But, at the same time, it is an affirmation of faith in the University of Florida and its future." |
