San Antonio-based Overland Partners provided architecture services for the Asian Shoji screen-inspired museum extension housed in the former Lone Star Brewery

SAN ANTONIO, August 4, 2009 – San Antonio-based Overland Partners Architects has won a 2009 Design Award from the Texas Society of Architects (TSA) for its design of the Lenora and Walter F. Brown Asian Art Wing at the San Antonio Museum of Art. The Overland project was one of 12 projects in Texas to receive a 2009 Design Award from more than 261 total entries the jury reviewed.

Completed in 2005, the 15,000-square-foot Lenora and Walter F. Brown Asian Art Wing is a two-story addition located on top of the west wing of the San Antonio Museum of Art, which is located in the original home of the historic Lone Star Brewery that was built in 1884. The new wing has enabled the museum to house the largest collection of Asian art in Texas and in the southern United States, with more than 1,500 pieces of Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian art on display.

The inspiration behind Overland’s design of the Lenora and Walter F. Brown Asian Art Wing comes from the simple design philosophy of Asian Shoji screens, which allow light to filter through their thin, translucent walls while still providing privacy.  Using modern construction methods and contemporary materials, the new wing includes a series of sophisticated translucent and transparent glazing systems, allowing filtered light to directly illuminate the display cases while eliminating harmful UV light. The naturally illuminated display cases provide a unique setting in which to view works from the museum’s outstanding collection of Asian art.

Envisioned as a striking contrast to the masonry structures of the former brewery complex, the design for the new wing was influenced by the glass sky bridge, elevators, and stair towers that are part of previous museum additions.

In addition to Overland Partners as the architect, other project team members included Browning Construction Company as the general contractor, Lundy & Franke Engineering, Inc. as the structural engineer, Goetting and Associates as the MEP engineer, Bos Lighting Design as the lighting consultant, and Cliff LaFontaine as the exhibit consultant.

ABOUT OVERLAND PARTNERS

Overland Partners Architects, founded in 1985 in San Antonio, Texas, is a realization of a vision to bring together a wide range of talents in architecture and planning, in order to provide comprehensive and multi-disciplinary design service.  Sensitive to the environmental and aesthetic context in which we are asked to design, the firm strives for a thoughtful integration of technology, art, and craft through highly sustainable solutions.  Overland Partners Architects offers its clients the ultimate goal of creating a beautiful, functional and enduring design through a process that inspires long-term relationships and is rewarding to the entire project team.  For more information, visit www.overlandpartners.com.

ABOUT THE SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ART

Housed in the historic, turn-of-the-century Lone Star Brewery, the San Antonio Museum of Art is home to a permanent collection that spans the centuries-and the globe. The Museum is the region’s finest display of American, Ancient, Asian, Contemporary, European, Islamic, Latin American Modern, Near Eastern and Oceanic art. The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art is the nation’s only center dedicated to the exhibition and study of Latin American art, featuring objects from pre-Columbian to contemporary, spanning 4,000 years. The Lenora and Walter F. Brown Asian Art Wing is largest collection of Asian art in the southwestern United States, spanning 6,000 years of history. For more information, please visit www.sa-museum.org.

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Interviews and high-resolution images available upon request.

Media Contact: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191