Nelle Cochrane Woods Art Building was constructed in 1962-1963 and was designed as a companion building to the new Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery (now Sheldon Museum of Art), also being constructed during this time and near the same area.
Hazen and Robinson, the architecture firm designing the new art building, was also involved in the construction of Sheldon Gallery. They designed the Woods Art Building in the International Style, a style introduced to Americans by none other than Philip Johnson, architect of the Sheldon. In 1932, Johnson had mounted an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art titled The International Style. This landmark exhibit introduced Americans to the work of the European modernists, and made Philip Johnson an overnight authority on the International Style. It also launched the modernist architectural movement in the US.
Woods Art Building is a modest example of the International Style, a style characterized by its lack of adornment, exposed structural elements, large, continuous bands of single pane windows usually framed in metal. It was designed for use by the Art Department, and continues to serve as one of two art buildings on campus today.
Woods Art Building and Sheldon Museum of Art are both integrated into the Sculpture Garden area of the Arts Quadrangle on the city campus. Patios, terraces and landscaping tie the buildings together, as do their light colored exteriors and extensive use of glass.
Source Information:
Bd of Regents minutes, 1961-63.
