Hanke Exhibition Gallery
Apicella + Bunton was selected to design the new Hanke Exhibition Gallery within the Sterling Memorial Library Nave. We approached this renovation as a small museum for Yale University Library’s special collections.
Originally designed as office space, and more recently as support space for library services, the renovated space has been transformed for display and used as a teaching museum to feature student-curated exhibits.
The inviting entry to the Hanke Exhibition Gallery from the Nave features intricate millwork details that were original to the existing space.
The new gallery space has an entry on each of the two sides, with the most important, prominent entry from the Nave. We worked with Yale Preservation to design secure built-in and freestanding display cases which uses specialty lighting and humidity control.
Inspired by the character of the original leaded glass ceiling, new and modified elements were designed to define the intimate space below. The exhibition space provides exciting opportunities for the display and celebration of Yale’s vast and diverse special collections.
2024 NLB Tesla Award of Excellence
2023 LIT Awards – Honorable Mention
Photographs © Christopher Gardner