Steven Holl’s ICA in Richmond gears up for its public launch

Driving past the historic intersection of Richmond’s Belvidere and Broad streets, architecturally minded visitors will no doubt spot the city’s new addition; the glowing Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), designed by New York-based, celebrated practice Steven Holl Architects.
Featuring Holl’s signature translucent white volumes in an elegant and flowing composition, the new building is not only the very first one that is entirely dedicated to contemporary art in town, but it is also set to provide the local community with a valuable new platform for discourse and experimentation.
‘We are delighted to open the ICA and welcome the Richmond, VCU, and art-world communities into the building,’ says ICA interim director Joseph H Seipel ‘Beginning with our inaugural exhibition Declaration, our programming will demonstrate the significant role the ICA will play in our vibrant community. Given our location on a major research university campus and our commitment to free admission, the ICA is well suited to serve as a forum for open dialogue, collaboration, and the exchange of perspectives.’
Symbolising this role of bridging of ideas, the building features two entrances – one towards the city’s art district, and another towards VCU’s Monroe Park campus. Inside, a striking 41,000 square feet of flexible space, including a mutli-use 33-foot-high central forum, will host a variety of shows over the year. Further facilities include a café, bar, store, learning spaces and a state-of-the-art, 240-seat auditorium. The galleries span three floors, with the top one also including administrative offices.
Sustainable technologies and environmentally conscious design elements ensure this is an eco-friendly building, as well as a community, visitor and art led one.
‘We designed the ICA to be a flexible, forward-looking instrument that will both illuminate and serve as a catalyst for the transformative possibilities of contemporary art,’ says Holl. ‘Like many contemporary artists working today, the ICA’s design does not draw distinctions between the visual and performing arts. The fluidity of the design allows for experimentation and will encourage new ways to display and present art that will capitalise on the ingenuity and creativity apparent throughout the VCU campus.’
The ICA at VCU will open its doors to the public on the 21st April, and the inaugural show, Declaration, will run until the 9th September 2018.
The structure is a composition of volumes in Holl’s signature semi-transparent white, which glows like a lantern at night.
The new building is located at the historic intersection of Richmond’s Belvidere and Broad streets.
The site has two main entrances, uniting the city’s arts district on one side and VCU’s Monroe Park campus on the other.
The new addition, which is the first building dedicated to contemporary art in town, features 41,000 square feet of flexible space.
Central to the composition is the 33-foot-high Royall Forum.
Also acting as display space, the Royall Forum will host exhibitions, performances, films, and interdisciplinary programs.
Piloting a variety of curatorial and educational programs, the ICA will breathe new life to Richmond’s art scene. Pictured here, the second floor galleries.
The Beverly W. Reynolds gallery is located on the ICA’s first floor.
The ICA’s team aims for the building to become a platform for dialogue and collaboration.
Part of the building’s program is the Abby W. Moore Café, where visitors can take a break and relax with a cup of coffee.
INFORMATION
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
For more information visit the website of Steven Holl Architects
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Beloved British screenwriter Dennis Potter inspires an exhibition with a difference at Studio Voltaire
Hilary Lloyd's multi-faceted exhibition at Studio Voltaire considers Dennis Potter's life and work, from much-loved TV classics to power inequalities
-
Insert here: London Design Festival gets intimate with insertable design
At London Design Festival, Heirloom Studio showcases 36 objects – some life-saving, some pleasure-giving, all made to go inside the body
-
Postcard from Helsinki Design Week 2025
Helsinki Design Week turns 20 this year. Celebrating two decades of design, core themes of this year revolve around happiness and optimism: here are design critic Hugo Macdonald's ten highlights
-
Meet Studio Zewde, the Harlem practice that's creating landscapes 'rooted in cultural narratives, ecology and memory'
Ahead of a string of prestigious project openings, we check in with firm founder Sara Zewde
-
The best of California desert architecture, from midcentury gems to mirrored dwellings
While architecture has long employed strategies to cool buildings in arid environments, California desert architecture developed its own distinct identity –giving rise, notably, to a wave of iconic midcentury designs
-
A restored Eichler home is a peerless piece of West Coast midcentury modernism
We explore an Eichler home, and Californian developer Joseph Eichler’s legacy of design, as a fine example of his progressive house-building programme hits the market
-
How LA's Terremoto brings 'historic architecture into its next era through revitalising the landscapes around them'
Terremoto, the Los Angeles and San Francisco collective landscape architecture studio, shakes up the industry through openness and design passion
-
Inside a Donald Wexler house so magical, its owner bought it twice
So transfixed was Daniel Patrick Giles, founder of fragrance brand Perfumehead, he's even created a special scent devoted to it
-
The Pagani Residences is the latest ultra-luxe automotive apartment tower to reach Miami
Rising up above Miami, branded apartment buildings are having a renaissance, as everyone from hypercar builders to crystal makers seeks to have a towering structure bearing their name
-
A modern cabin in Minnesota serves as a contemporary creative retreat from the city
Snow Kreilich Architects' modern cabin and studio for an artist on a lakeside plot in Minnesota was designed to spark creativity and provide a refuge from the rat race
-
Touring artist Glenn Ligon's studio in Brooklyn with its architect, Ravi Raj
Glenn Ligon's studio, designed by architect Ravi Raj, is an industrial Brooklyn space reimagined for contemporary art