Religious and Cultural
Telfair Jepson Center for the Arts
Savannah, GA
Client: Telfair Museums
Architect: Moshe Safdie and Paul Hansen
Size: 64,000 SF
Completion: March 2006
The Telfair Museum of Art opened its new 64,000 SF state-of-the-art building in March 2006. Designed by architects Moshe Safdie and Paul Hansen, the Jepson Center for the Arts features a library, two large galleries for major traveling exhibitions; galleries for African American art, Southern art, photography and works on paper; a community gallery; a 3,500 SF hands-on gallery for young people; two outdoor sculpture terraces, education studios, a 200-seat auditorium, cafe, and museum shop.
There are hanging suspension points throughout the museum so art and other objects can be suspended from the ceiling. The Jepson's exterior is covered with white Portuguege stone and consists of two separate structures connected by glass bridges over a protected lane that is part of Savannah's town plan originally conceived in 1733 by Georgia's founder General James Oglethorpe. The building has a soaring light-filled atrium and a sweeping, three level staircase that provides access to its expansive galleries. It is the first expansion in the Telfair's 119 year history.
